DUSHANBE, February 13, Asia-Plus – Commercial banks in Tajikistan plant to have doubled crediting this year, according to the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT).
Deputy NBT chairman, Ahmadjon Sharifjonov, said that henceforth, the banks will support any initiative aimed at enhancement of industrial and agrarian sectors in Tajikistan. According to him, this will allow curbing inflation in the country.
According to Tajik central bank, the remainders of loans provided by banks increased by 22.7 percent last year and amounted, as of January 1, 2007, to 1.5 billion somonis.
“More than half of all loans were provided for commercial activity,” said Sharifjonov, “While demand for loans to enhance industrial production and agrarian sector is not so much.”
According to him, one of the main problems facing commercial banks in Tajikistan is attraction of resources. “There are several methods to attract resources,” said the NBT official, “They include domestic attraction of deposits and foreign investments or resources of international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Asian Development (ADB).”
He added that at present practically all commercial banks operating in Tajikistan participate in the Tajikistan Micro and Small Finance Facility (TMSEF) Project. The EBRD has provided access to finance to Tajik micro and small borrowers (MSE) since October 2003. The MSEs are recognized as a strong factor of job creation, poverty alleviation and grass-root economic development.
At present nine banks operate in Tajikistan: AgroInvestBonk, OryonBonk, SohibkorBonk, Bank Eskhata, AmonatBonk (Tajik savings bank), TojikSodirotBonk, Tajikistan Development Bank (TDB), TajPromBank and The First MicroFinance Bank (FMFB). Additionally, a branch of Iran’s Tejarat Bank and an office of Kazakhstan’s TuranAlemBank also function in the country.
