DUSHANBE, October 9, 2009, Asia-Plus — The management of Agroinvestbonk intends to ask the government to again postpone last year’s credit repayments, Asia-Plus ahs learned from Mahmadali Ibrohimov, the head of Agroinvestbonk’s aggregate data department.
According to him, the Association of Banks of Tajikistan will also appeal to the government over this issue on behalf of Tajik banks.
“We want to ask the government to postpone repayment of last year’s government credit until July 1, 2010 as well as to freeze the interest on loans for banks,” Ibrohimov said.
We will recall that Agroinvestbonk appealed to the government in March this year, asking to postpone debt repayments for cotton farmers until the end of the year. The farmers” loans received last year were supposed to be paid off by April 1.
In 2008, the government gave a 140 million somoni credit to farmers through six banks, including Agroinvestbonk (50 million somoni), Orienbonk (35 million somoni), Tajikistan’s savings bank Amonabonk (40 million somoni), Tojik Sodirot Bonk (5 million somoni), Bonki Rushdi Tojikiston (5 million somoni), and Tajprombank (5 million somoni).
In March, Agroinvestbonk justified its request for postponement of debt repayments by saying that the fall in the international price of cotton and in demand for the product has hurt many Tajik farmers. Tajik authorities noted that time that if farmers fail to repay their loans until the end of the year, banks could seize their property. However, bank analysts noted that the country’s legislation does not allow for the confiscation and sale of land, and the government should propose another solution.
