DUSHANBE, July 16, 2010, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s savings bank, Amonatbonk, intends to lodge application for participation in a tender for placing temporarily surplus funds raised from the sale of shares in open joint-stock company (OJSC) NBO Roghun, the Amonatbonk chairperson, Ms. Gulnora Hasanova, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 15.
According to her, the bank was supposed to participate in the previous tender but was late with lodging the application for participation in the tender.
“We think we will be able to cope with this task and to place a part of the amount,” said Hasanova, “If the Ministry of Finance offers acceptable conditions, we will carefully consider the issue and make decision.”
She added that Amonatbonk was ready to place a part of amount in foreign currency because shares in Roghun having been sold both in local and foreign currency, in particular in Russian rubles. “We could place the funds in our bank at 5 percent interest.”
We will recall that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) plans to place temporarily surplus funds raised from the sale of shares in NBO Roghun in one of Tajikistan’s commercial banks until the end of this year. For this purpose, a tender was held on May 28, 2010; only three banks participated in the tender, while 14 banks now operate in the country. An average interest rate offered by the banks at the tender did not exceed 0.6 percent that did not suit the MoF. According to some sources, the MoF plans to place some 80 million U.S. dollars in banks.
Amonatbonk is the only state-owned bank. It is one of the oldest in Tajikistan (established in 1925) and one of the largest based upon various criteria – including the number of branches and the number of served clients. The institution is unique in its orientation towards implementing social, pension and other state programs. Amonatbonk has 5 regional centers, 69 branches and nearly 500 agencies. This gives the institution a presence in the most remote mountainous parts of the country.
Amonatbonk’s aggregate capital reportedly rose 9 percent in the year to July 1, 2010, reaching 119.2 million somoni.
