Azerbaijan, Baku, May 8 / Trend A. Hasanov /
The ADB mission on operations in the private sector starts its visit to Baku on May 11. It will have meetings with potential customers in Azerbaijan, ADB Baku Office told Trend today.
"The main purpose of the visit is to discuss the development of Azerbaijani financial and private sectors, which will be reflected in the Country Partnership Strategy," the office said.
ADB conducts a thematic evaluation of the state, economic, social and private sectors to start working on the strategy, which is expected to be prepared before the end of the year. It will be approved in the first quarter of 2013. The strategy can cover a five-year period (2013-2017) and a long-term period.
The Asian Development Bank has assisted small and medium enterprises in the area of inter-regional trade and trade between Azerbaijan and other developing countries in 52 transactions worth $41 million within the program for private sector development and trade finance (TFFP).
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to give credit lines for trade finance to two Azerbaijani banks, Olly Noroyono, ADB country representative in Azerbaijan earlier told Trend.
"We intend to intensify our activity in this direction in 2012," he said. "We see the potential to provide local commercial banks with new loans. Negotiations are already underway with two local banks."
In April 2010, ADB signed contracts with five Azerbaijani banks (Access Bank, Azerigazbank, Bank of Baku, DemirBank and Bank Respublika) within the expansion of trade financing.
ADB launched the TFFP in 2004.
As the period of executing TFFP portfolio may be extended, the program can ensure up to $15 billion to support trade finance by late 2013.