Monday, March 12 2012 17:45
Eurasian Development Bank to lend Areximbank-Gazprombank Group $10mln for financing SMEs
ArmInfo. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) will lend Areximbank-Gazprombank Group $10mln for financing SMEs, says the three-year agreement signed by Deputy Chairman of the Board of the EDB Dmitry Zhurba and CEO of Areximbank- Gazprombank Group Armen Khandkaryan on Monday.
Zhurba said that the EDB is interested in financing investment projects that help its member states to develop and to integrate their economies and does it through the agency of national banks.
"Our bank sees SME support as the basis of Armenia's social-economic development and believes that the growing number of international investors is improving the country's investment climate," Zhurba said. He said that since Apr 2009, when Armenia joined the EDB, they have invested in the country a total of $54mln and have lent local trade companies additional $30mln.
CEO of Areximbank-Gazprombank Group Armen Khandkaryan said that today's agreement is just the beginning of their partnership with the EDB. "We are also negotiating credit lines for trade and energy projects. SMEs are the backbone of our economy, so, we give them a very high priority," Khandkaryan said. He said that in the last two years they have increased their lending to SMEs and are now among the top three SME creditors in Armenia's banking system. "We cooperate with a number of international financial organizations, including the World Bank and the KfW. Just a year ago our SME lending portfolio was $10mln, today, it is $40mln, with most of the loans given to agriculture and trade. The loans are provided for 5 years at 15-16%," Khandkaryan said.
According to ArmInfo, as of Jan 1 2012 Armenia's banks had lent SMEs a total of 400bln AMD or over $1bln – 46% more than a year before. Armenia has a SME Development National Center and cooperates in this field with the EBRD, IFC, KfW and the Armenian Office of Rossotrudnichestvo.
In 2011 the loan book of Areximbank-Gazprom Group totaled 75bln AMD or $41mln – 53% more than in 2010.
Areximbank-Gazprombank Group CJSC is a medium-sized bank, established in 1997 as Areximbank (Armenian-Russian Export-Import Bank) for supporting business and handling financial flows between Russia and Armenia. June 12 2009 the bank was renamed into Areximbank-Gazprombank Group, following the purchase of 100% of its shares by Russian Gazprombank. Earlier, in 2007, Gazprombank bought an 80.09% stake in Areximbank's capital. The bank has 16 branches.
Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial organization founded by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2006. The Bank's mission is to facilitate the development of market economies, economic growth and the expansion of trade and other economic ties in its member states by carrying out investment activities. The EDB member states are Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan and Belarus.
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