Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr I. Khalilova / Natik Abdullayev, the head of the German Development Bank's (KFW) Baku Office, reported on 6 April that the KFW is going to offer a consultant from the Credit-Guarantee Foundation (CGF) to the Azerbaijani Government. This will hasten the beginning of the Foundation's activity in Azerbaijan. In the case that Azerbaijan does not agree, a new manager for the CGF will be appointed. "The project is a regional one and the foundation has already started its activity in other Caucasian countries," Abdullayev said.
The manager of the Georgian CGF is the German Saving-Banks Foundation on International Cooperation (SBFIC), which also has its branch in Azerbaijan. SBFIC rules the German-Azerbaijani Foundation and is a share holder of the Azerbaijan Bank Respublika.
The inter-governmental agreement on establishment of the CGF in Azerbaijan was concluded during the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Bonn ( Germany) in February. The agreement was signed by the Minister for Economic Development, Heydar Babayev.
KFW is ready to allot €4 million for the project's implementation, with €3.75 million to be allocated as a guarantee for the Foundation's establishment, and €0.25 million will be paid to the consultant. Azerbaijani banks will be able to receive credits from the international banks on the credit terms of KFW. The amount of the funds of the Foundation will make up €2.3 million in the initial stage. The CGF has no credit-lines limit; however the guarantee will not exceed €500,000 at the first stage.