DUSHANBE, November 2, Asia-Plus – Eskhata Bank in Khujand, the capital of the Sughd province, has established cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Masrur Ishonov, an economist with the documentation operations sector at the Eskhata bank, told Asia-Plus that representatives from Eskhata Bank and ADB met in Khujand in mid-October to discuss the possibility of jointly loaning development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Tajikistan.
According to him, experts from ADB have analyzed financial indices of the bank and found them quite satisfactory.
“An agreement on providing a loan of US$1 million to our bank for funding small and medium-sized enterprises in Tajikistan will probably be singed by mid-November,” Ishonov said, noting that the loan will be provided for the period of five years.
The Eskhata Bank official also noted that their bank has actively cooperated with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on its Tajikistan Micro and Small Finance Facility (TMSEF) program since 2003.
This program is aimed at providing access to finance to Tajik micro and small borrowers (MSE). Loans ranging from US$30,000 to US$100,000 are financed by the TMSEF through four Tajik participating banks (TajikSodirotBonk, Eskhata Bank, TajPromBank, AgroInvestBonk).
According to Ishonov, the EBRD has lent the Eskhata Bank US$5.5 million for on-lending to clients from micro and small enterprises. Of this amount, US$2 million have provided with support of International Finance Corporation (IFC), according to him.
Founded in Khujand in November 1993, Eskhata Bank received a license in 1994. Eskhata Bank, with headquarters in Khujand, has eight branches across the republic. According to Tajik central bank, the regulative capital of Eskhata Bank has amounted to 19.7 million somonis (more than US$5 million) as of September 1, 2006. In December 2005, the EBRD became shareholder of Eskhata Bank.
