DUSHANBE, August 13, 2009, Asia-Plus — The European bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting the levels of financial intermediation in Tajikistan with a US$12 million equity investment in one of the leading lenders in the country.
An official ceremony of signing of the equity Investment Agreement between open joint-stock company (OJSC) Agroinvestbonk and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was held in Dushanbe on August 12.
Under this agreement, the EBRD acquired a stake of 25 percent + 1 share in Agroinvestbonk, the second largest commercial bank in Tajikistan, for up to 50 million somoni (equivalent to 12 million U.S. dollars).
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.
The EBRD’s investment will strengthen the capital base of Agroinvestbonk and will support its growth and further development. This will also enable the bank to increase its provision of loans to local enterprises.
The EBRD investment in Agroinvestbonk is complemented by $1.5 million in grant funds from the Bank’ Early Transition Countries Fund for institution building and the strengthening of corporate governance.
“The EBRD equity investment in Agroinvestbonk is our third equity investment in Tajikistan”s banking sector and we will continue to expand our relationships and to provide support to developing financial institutions in this region,” said Mike Taylor, EBRD Director for Central Asia, Mongolia & Caucasus.
Niyozmurod Saidmurodov, CEO of Agroinvestbonk said: “Having worked with EBRD for several years, we see this investment as a sign of confidence and support, not only in our bank, but in the country as a whole. We look forward to continuing our fruitful co-operation, which will enable us to continue assisting small businesses and farmers across the country”.
Agroinvestbonk and the EBRD have been working together since 2005 when the bank was included in the EBRD Tajik Micro and Small Enterprise Framework and subsequently joined EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme. More recently, it also joined the EBRD Tajik Agricultural Finance Framework.
To date the EBRD has committed close to $200 million to the Tajik economy in various projects in the corporate, financial, energy and infrastructure sectors.
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.
