DUSHANBE, May 7, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan intends to pay its share to the authorized capital of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) in the near future, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
The source at a MoF said that Tajikistan’s share in EDB’s authorized capital stock had been set at 500,000 U.S. dollars. Asked about an agreement on terms for the Bank’s presence in the country, the source said the document was still under consideration by the government.
As it had been reported earlier, the EDB Board on December 11, 2008 considered applications by Tajikistan, Belarus and Armenia and approved the entrance of them to the Bank.
At present there are three full members of the Eurasian Development Bank — Russia, Kazakhstan and Armenia.
The Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial institution founded in order to foster economic growth and integration processes in the Eurasian region.
Founded in January 2006, the EDB with headquarters in Almaty, Kazakhstan has a branch in St. Petersburg, Russia”s second city, and offices in the two countries” capitals, Moscow and Astana.
Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to create the bank on January 12, 2006 in the Kazakh capital, Astana. Under the agreement, the bank will have authorized capital of $1.5 billion, 33% of which will belong to Kazakhstan and the remainder to Russia. In April 2009, Armenia became the third full member of the EDB after having paid its share to the bank’s authorized capital.
The Bank has formed a project portfolio for a total of $ 1.2 billion, while also increasing efforts to expand its loan portfolio and product lines. International credit rating agencies have given the Bank ratings equivalent to the sovereign Russian rating or higher.
According to the founding documents, any country or international organization can apply to become a member of the EDB, as long as the Bank”s specific criteria are met. Successful applicants become members following a decision of the Bank”s Board and after having paid in their required share capital.
The concentration of the Bank’s activities in Russia, Kazakhstan and the adjacent Central Asian countries will allow the EDB to accumulate in-depth knowledge of the economies and policies of the countries in the region, their peculiarities of business, which would, in turn, ensure a high quality of investment decisions.
The Bank’s key areas of focus for financing activity are in the areas of electric power, water and energy, transportation infrastructure and high-tech and innovative industries.
