Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Nov. 29
By Demir Azizov - Trend:
International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank Group) and Uzbekistan's HamkorBank signed a loan agreement on Nov. 29 for allocation of a $15 million credit line for the Uzbek bank, according to the bank's message.
According to the agreement the loan is allocated in two tranches of $7.5 million each. The first tranche will be allocated immediately after the signing of the agreement and the second tranche will be allocated over the year. Credits will be used to finance micro and small enterprises' projects in Uzbekistan. The maximum amount of the credit for one borrower will be up to $500,000.
The partnership of IFC and HamkorBank began in 2001, when IFC decided to become a shareholder of HamkorBank buying a 15 per cent stake in its authorized capital. To date, IFC has provided Hamkorbank with funds totalling $13 million.
Uzbekistan became a member of IFC in 1993. Since 1996, IFC invested $94 million to support 27 private sector projects in the financial, agribusiness and food sector.
Hamkorbank was founded in 1991. Bank with assets of 600 billion soums and total equity of 100 billion soums is average in size in the banking system of Uzbekistan. The bank's head office is located in Andijan (center of the Andijan oblast). It has a representative office in Tashkent and a network of branches and mini-banks in all regions. The main directions of the bank's business is lending to small and medium-sized businesses and individual entrepreneurs.
The official exchange rate on Nov. 29 is 2190.67soums/$ 1