BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 24
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) will explore opportunities to finance ‘downstream’ operations in Azerbaijan, the Bank told Trend.
BSTDB said that its intention is to provide support for the implementation of government’s economic priorities, while being responsive to market demand.
“Given the need to promote diversification of the economy and to promote the non-oil/non-energy portion of the economy, the Bank will pay particular attention to operations which promote diversification, including the promotion of small and medium scale projects in the non-oil sector which generate new employment creation and development impact,” said the Bank.
At the same time, the Bank said it will consider projects that envisage modernization and expansion of conventional energy infrastructure in order to facilitate power generation, transmission and distribution inside and outside Azerbaijan.
“Achieving increases in the exports of oil and gas requires substantial financial resources for new investment and maintenance of existing transportation links, including oil and gas pipelines. The Bank will consider projects which intend to increase the supply of energy resources through transport networks with strong environmental and other positive externalities. The Bank also explore opportunities to finance ‘downstream’ operations, particularly for oil and natural gas transportation, expansion of retail networks, the building of storage facilities and industrial parks, and the construction of new and/or modernization of existing petrochemical facilities (including refineries) to improve product quality and environmental acceptability,” said the Bank.
In terms of financing instruments, the Bank said its energy and infrastructure priorities will primarily focus on medium- to long-term debt financing products to both local and international companies operating in Azerbaijan.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), an international financial institution with headquarters in Thessaloniki, Greece, was established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
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