DUSHANBE, November 23, 2009, Asia-Plus — At the end of last week, acting chairman of the Board of Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) Agroinvestbonk Murodjon Vafoyev met here with outgoing head of the Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Tajikistan Matthieu Le Blan and Ulf Hindstrom who replaced Le Blan as head of the EBRD Office in Tajikistan, according to Agroinvestbonk’s press service.
In the course of the talks, Vafoyev expressed gratitude to Le Blan for contribution he had made to establishment and expansion of cooperation between the two banks. Vafoyev also congratulated Hindstrom on his appointment as head of the EBRD Office in Tajikistan and expressed confidence that cooperation between Agroinvestbonk and the EBRD would expand in the future as well.
Mr. Masaru Honma, EBRD Director for Central Asia, who also attended the meeting, noted that the Bank would continue to support joint projects and programs with Agroinvestbonk, in particular the Tajik Micro and Small Enterprise Financing Facility (TMSEFF), trade facilitation Program (TFP) and the Tajik Agricultural Finance Framework (TAFF), the press service said.
We will recall that the EBRD acquired a stake of 25 percent + 1 share in Agroinvestbonk for up to 50 million somoni (equivalent to 11.5 million U.S. dollars).
Agroinvestbonk and the EBRD have been working together since 2005.
Founded in 1992, Agroinvestbonk, with headquarters in Dushanbe, has main branches in Khorog, Khujand, Kulob and Qurghon Teppa and 61 other branches across the republic.
Agroinvestbonk is one of the leading providers of finance to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the agricultural sector in Tajikistan. Through its substantial rural network it reaches out beyond the capital Dushanbe, to areas where access to finance remains difficult for private entrepreneurs.
