Tag Archives: international financial institutions

IMF flies into Georgian capital

FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — An IMF delegation flew into Tbilisi for a two-week mission that could trigger a major injection of cash linked to economic changes. Georgia has been one of the most reform-minded countries in the former Soviet Union acting as something of a posterboy for IMF- backed changes. The government, though, is also looking for support to push through a tough economic downturn. GDP growth in 2016 was 2.2%, its lowest since 2009 when the economy shrank by 3.8% during the Global Financial Crisis.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

ABD chief heads to Uzbekistan

FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Takehiko Nakao, the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will visit Uzbekistan later this month, the Trend news agency reported quoting the ADB’s Tashkent office, raising the possibility of a major cash injection for Uzbek business. Azernews reported that the ADB was lining up loans worth $2.1b for various sectors of Uzbekistan’s economy, including its power sector. Earlier this month the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sent a high-profile delegation to Tashkent for talks with senior officials.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

EBRD heads to Uzbek capital

FEB. 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sent its first mission to Tashkent to meet with officials from the new government of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for the first time since Islam Karimov died in September, Reuters reported. Reuters suggested that this visit was important as it might signal renewed interest in investing in Uzbekistan by the EBRD.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

EBRD to support power station construction in Georgia

JAN. 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will part-finance a new $14.3m hydropower station on the Lukhuni river in Georgia, media reported. Georgia produces much of its power from hydropower stations. Like its neighbours, Georgia is trying to boost its power generation capacity to keep pace with demand. The new power station will have a capacity of 17MW.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)

EBRD loans Kazakhstan €200m to develop renewables

ALMATY, DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) pledged to give Kazakh businessmen 200m euros to improve the country’s renewable energy sector.

For the EBRD the motivation is to boost Kazakhstan’s green energy production. Solar and wind generate only around 1% of Kazakhstan’s power at the moment. Hydro produces around 13% of its power and the rest is generated by smoke belching coal-powered stations.

“Once all the projects come on- stream, annual CO2 emissions are expected to reduce by about 600,000 tonnes, which would help the country to achieve its commitments to cut emissions under the Paris climate agreement,” the EBRD said in a statement.

The 2015 Paris Agreement was a global deal to cut carbon emissions.

Kazakhstan may once have turned its nose up at taking EBRD cash to produce green energy. Now, though, it is happy to go along with the concept. It is struggling to see off a steep economic downturn that has hit its revenues. Oil and gas are its major exports but prices have halved.

And, alongside a fall in revenues, Kazakhstan also needs to boost power. Its population has swelled and grown richer, demanding more power.

It still needs to replace a nuclear power station that was decommissioned in the 1990s. Plans to build a replacement have been scrapped for the time being and a thermal power plant that was being built on the shores of Lake Balkhash with South Korea has also been ditched this year because it was too expensive.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Institutional loans

DEC. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — It’s been a good couple of weeks for inter-governmental banks’ Central Asia and South Caucasus portfolios. They have lent heavily in the region, supporting infrastructure projects from gas pipelines in Azerbaijan to solar and wind power projects in Kazakhstan.

It’s a win-win situation. The institutional banks want to lend the money that their shareholders – nation states – and their constitutions require. Demand may be a better way of putting it.

For Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, the funds are a welcome source of cash at a time of economic constraint. Their economies are under huge pressure at the moment from the sustained low oil prices. Azerbaijan’s GDP has shrunk this year and Kazakhstan’s is stagnant.

They were once attractive options to lend to for commercial banks looking for decent exposure in Emerging Markets. Now they would find it difficult to raise the cash without paying prohibitively expensive interest rates.

That’s where the loans from intergovernmental banks come in. They are cheap and chunky.

The latest round of loans came with the involvement for the first time of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

This it the China-based bank that was set up on Christmas day last year but only started operations in January this year. It has now invested $600m in a loan to Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor company which is helping to build the TANAP gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

The AIIB has put down a major marker, then, and potentially set itself up as a challenger to the traditionally West-based intergovernmental banks that have previously dominated.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

ABD gives ‘critical’ loan to Azerbaijan

DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Asian Development Bank said that it had a approved a loan of $500m to help support Azerbaijan during the economic downturn that has hit the region. Azerbaijan has been particularly hard hit by the collapse in oil prices. Over 75% of the government’s revenues come from oil sales. Its economy has shrunk by 4% this year. The ADB described the loan as “critical”.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

IBRD extends loan to Armenian tourism

DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s parliament ratified a $55m loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) aimed at developing the country’s tourist sector. Much of the loan has been earmarked for Armenia’s regions.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kyrgyzstan signs loan deal with ABD

DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Asian Development Bank and the Kyrgyz government signed a loan agreement for the upgrade of the Soviet-era Toktogul hydropower plant, the biggest in Kyrgyzstan. The ADB will provide loans totalling $60m and a $50m grant. Toktogul produces around 40% of the country’s electricity. This is the third phase of the refurbishment at Toktogul. The ABD has already participated in the funding of the first two phases.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

EBRD gives loan to Armenian bank

DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The EBRD sent a $10m loan to Ameriabank, Armenia’s largest bank by assets, to promote credit to women-led small and medium enterprises. The EBRD also sent a $3b loan to ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank, one of the largest lenders to Armenia’s agriculture sector. The loan is part of the EBRD’s Women in Business programme, which includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)f