Tuesday, November 11 2014 17:56
Eurasian Development Bank to lend Ardshininvestbank $10mln for financing of SMEs
ArmInfo. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Ardshininvestbank signed a credit agreement on Tuesday.
According to the EDB, Ardshininvest will be lent $10mln for five years for financing of SMEs.
The agreement was signed by Chairman of the EDB Board Dmitry Krasilnikov and Chairman of the Board of Ardshininvestbank Mher Grigoryan.
The project is part of the program to support and develop SMEs by means of loans.
Ardshininvestbank will select borrowers on its own in line with criteria agreed on with the EDB. The project is expected to foster sustainable development of SMEs, to enhance competition among them and to raise their competitiveness on domestic and foreign markets.
"SMEs development is crucial for economic growth. So, we are sure that this project will have a good effect on local SMEs," Krasilinikov said, noting that financing of SMEs is one of the key priorities of his bank in Armenia.
"I am glad that the EDB's funds will help to develop SMEs in Armenia. Today the EDB is pooling efforts with one of the biggest financial organizations in Armenia. This is a good start for our partnership and I am sure that it will develop," Grigoryan said.
The Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial organization founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in Jan 2006 with a view to help its members to develop market economy and to enlarge their trade-economic ties. The EDB's authorized capital exceeds $1.5bln. The member states are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
Ardshininvestbank was established in 2002 and has 55 branches (the second biggest branch network in Armenia's banking system). The majority shareholder of the bank is the Center for Business Investments (97.23%). Ardshininvestbank is one of the leaders of Armenia's banking system. It is in top 3 in capital, assets, loans and obligations. Almost 20% of its loans are given to SMEs.
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