Prestigious magazine reflected contract signed between "Ardshinbank" and OPEC International Development Foundation

ArmInfo. The prestigious "International Journal on Hydropower & Dams" magazine reflected the contract signed between "Ardshinbank" and OPEC International Development Foundation (OFID), within which the projects related to the sphere of construction and operation of small hydroelectric power stations implemented by small and average enterprises are funded, the press service of the Ardshinbank informs.

As the periodical reports: "The funding was lent on to 10 local SMEs for a total of 13 run-of-river plants ranging from 0.8 MW to 8.4 MW with expected average output of 161.7 GWh/year, according to data from Ardshinbank. Seven of the projects, totaling 17.97 MW, were greenfield developments and the remaining six (19.5 MW) involved rehabilitation. Several projects had been completed prior to the loan agreement.

The financing provided to Ardshinbank, the second largest bank in Armenia, met two of the DFI's key strategic objectives of increasing access to electricity supply and supporting socio-economic development in developing markets.

"For OFID, the funding had a double developmental impact: supporting small hydro development but also supporting SMEs and creating employment opportunities," Khalid Khadduri, Private Sector Operations Officer at OFID told Hydropower & Dams in an interview in late October.

The international financial community has been extremely supportive of the development of small hydro in Armenia, with the active financing participation of the World Bank, the EBRD and Germany's KfW."

The bi-monthly International Journal on Hydropower & Dams publishes, for its readers in more than 180 countries, research papers, descriptive case studies, project updates, business and financial news, and policy papers aiming to help advance the state-of-the-art of dam engineering and hydropower development.  According to ArmInfo's Financial Rating of Banks, the shareholders of Ardshinbank are Center of Business Investments LLC - 97.52%, Aram Andreasyan - 1.57%, Karen Safaryan (RF) - 0.37%, Rudik Mkrtumyan and Khachik Zakaryan - by 0.27%, and International Business Center CJSC JV - 0.0005%.  The bank is in top3 by main balance figures. The total capital of Ardshinbank as of Jan 1 2016 amounted to 54 bln drams (with 11.6% y-o-y growth), assets - 504.7 bln drams (with 26% y-o-y growth), loans - 337.7 bln drams (with 23% y-o-y growth). The Bank retains its leadership position by net profits too - 4.6 bln drams in 2016 with a 2.3-fold year over year growth. Ardshinbank (former name Ardshininvestbank) has been established in 2003. Nowadays it has 56 branches, one service point and office in Paris.