Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.14
By Nigar Guliyeva - Trend:
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Trade Finance Program (TFP) and Uzbekistan's Aloqabank JSC have signed an agreement to provide loans and support trade in Uzbekistan.
The agreement was signed by ADB Country Director in Uzbekistan Takeo Konishi and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Aloqabank Khasan Rakhmatov in Tashkent.
“We are excited to have Aloqabank as our newest partner bank as we continue to support trade flows, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in Uzbekistan," said Nana Khurodze, TFP’s Relationship Manager for Uzbekistan.
“We are convinced that the signing of a trade finance agreement between Aloqabank and ADB will serve as a basis for cooperation and implementation of new projects in the future," said Kammuna Irisbekova, Chairman of the Board of Aloqabank.
ADB’s TFP has been operating in Uzbekistan since 2010 and currently works with 5 local partner banks. To date, the program has conducted 473 transactions, supporting almost $1.3 billion in trade in Uzbekistan, benefiting SMEs in a wide range of sectors including food and agricultural goods, commodities and industrial machineries, and capital goods.
Aloqabank was established in 1994 to provide financial support for the modernization and development of information technology and telecommunication industry companies. Today, Aloqabank caters all business sectors through its 14 branches in Uzbekistan.
Since 2009, ADB’s TFP has supported more than 12,000 small and medium-sized businesses across developing Asia—through over 16,600 transactions valued at over $30 billion—in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods, to medical supplies and consumer goods.
In 2017, TFP supported approximately $4.5 billion in trade through 3,505 transactions.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region.