BSTDB ready to up financing of projects in Azerbaijan
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is ready to increase financing for projects in Azerbaijan, BSTDB President Ihsan Ugur Delikanli said in an exclusive interview.
"In accordance with the bank’s country strategy, which covers years from 2015 to 2018, about 23-35 million euros are envisaged annually for projects in Azerbaijan. However, these figures don’t suit the bank’s management," Delikanli said.
"We believe that we can allocate more funds to Azerbaijan," he said. "Depending on the country’s needs, we can increase financing by 100-200 million euros."
"To date, the active loan portfolio of BSTDB for Azerbaijan exceeds 360 million euros, and more than 60 percent of these funds are allocated to the financial sector. In addition, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) require small loans worth about 100,000 manats. However, the bank’s mandate doesn’t allow issuing such small loans. The minimum amount of a loan BSTDB can provide is 4-5 million euros. Therefore, it is more expedient for BSTDB to work with banks in order to support SMEs in the countries of presence."
"Today, we also want to work with the government sector," Delikanli said. "On June 12, we discussed this issue with the representatives of the Azerbaijani government. We are ready to allocate loans to projects of priority for the government, so we are waiting for relevant proposals."