Saturday, February 16 2013 16:53
An up-to-date meat processing plant opened at NatFood Company in cooperation with BSTDB, EBRD and VTB Bank (Armenia)
ArmInfo. An up-to-date meat processing plant opened at NatFood Company in cooperation with Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and VTB (Armenia), VTB Bank Armenia told ArmInfo President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan attended the opening ceremony. The source reports that the plant opened due to constructive cooperation with the above banks that provided additional financing and restructured the loans provided to NatFood Company before.
The Armenian authorities have rendered permanent support to the project. The plant with up-to-date equipment and technologies will produce a wide assortment of high-quality meat products for local consumption and export. Activation of the plant will help upgrading the competitive abilities of the meat processing industry in the country and creating new jobs. NatFood OJSC is a private meat processing company. The majority shareholder of the company is the businessperson Hernik Zakharyants.
EBRD is also a shareholder. The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. With an authorized capital of SDR 3 billion, the Bank supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing trade and project financing, guarantees, and equity for development projects supporting both public and private enterprises in its member countries. BSTDB is rated A-/A-2 with stable outlook by Standard & Poor's, and A3/P2 with stable outlook by Moody's. Since 1991 EBRD has become the largest financial investor in our region of operations which stretches from central Europe to central Asia and the southern and eastern Mediterranean. With the ability and willingness to bear risk on behalf of our clients, it helps the countries in the region to become open, market economies. The banks is owned by 64 countries, the European Union and the European Investment Bank. It has invested in Armenia over 613 million EUR. VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC has joined VTB Group in April 2004. At present the second largest bank in Russia, VTB BANK OJSC, is the sole owner of VTB Bank (Armenia). The bank is traditionally among top banks in Armenia in terms of a range of key figures. It serves the largest branch network in the banking system of Armenia - 69 branches, including 2 mini-branches. The bank is among top three banks in the Ranking of Armenian Banks prepared by ArmInfo in terms in loans to economy sectors - over 61% of total loan book.