DUSHANBE, January 23, 2012, Asia-Plus — To-date, Roghun’s temporarily surplus funds deposited at Tajik banks have given 125 million in dividends, Minister of Finance Safarali Najmiddinov announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 23.
This year, 1.1 billion somoni are expected to be allocated for the Roghun hydroelectricity project. These funds will be spent to carry out recovery work and relocate people living close to the site of the future Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP), the minister noted.
865.6 million somoni have reportedly been earned from the sale of Roghun shares to this day.
The government reportedly assumes the 75% ownership interest (4.5 billion somoni) in NBO Roghun and these funds will gradually go to financing Roghun’s construction.
We will recall that five commercial banks were selected in August 2010 for placement of temporarily surplus funds raised from the sale of shares in OJSC NBO Roghun — Agroinvestbonk, Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB), Bonki Rushdi Tojikiston (Tajikistan Development Bank or TDB), Tajprombank, and Fononbank. 118.2 million somoni were placed at Agroinvestbonk, 20.3 million somoni at TSB, 2.8 million somoni at TDB, 11.1 million somoni at Tajprombank, and 5 million somoni at Fononbank.
Interest rate on these deposit accounts is floating. The interest rate includes refinancing rate plus one percent; today it is 9%+1%=10%.
The money return period expired on August 16, 2011 and commercial banks keeping Roghun’s temporarily surplus funds have asked to extend the money return period for one more year, but the supervisory board has agreed to extend it only for six months, until February 2012.
Another 80 million somoni were placed last year at three banks. 30 million somoni were placed at Agroinvestbonk, 30 million somoni at Tojik Sodirot Bonk and 20 million at Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank).
To raise funds to complete construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) the government started to sell shares in Roghun to people on January 6, 2010. Tajikistan has reportedly issued 6 billion somoni (US$1.37 billion) worth of Roghun shares.
