ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 20. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Shinhan Bank Kazakhstan (SBK, a fully owned subsidiary of Shinhan Bank Korea) are helping to increase the capacity and attractiveness of Kazakhstan’s major conference hub, the Atakent Business Cooperation Center in Almaty, by financing its expansion, Trend reports.
The EBRD will share half of the risk of a 3 billion tenge (US$ 6.6 million) loan provided by SBK, a fully owned subsidiary of Shinhan Bank Korea, to Atakent under the risk-sharing agreement between the two banks.
The first risk-sharing transaction between the EBRD and SBK will finance the construction of a new sports and health facility.
The building – the construction of which is being supported by a $172,200 grant under the EBRD’s Resource Efficiency Transformation Program, funded by the Global Environment Facility Special Fund – will meet class A international energy efficiency standards. The grant will help introduce an array of energy-efficient solutions, including LED lighting, insulation, and modern heating and cooling equipment.
The EBRD has to date participated in 9 risk-sharing transactions in Kazakhstan worth a total 7.4 billion tenge ($16.5 million).
With more than €10 billion invested in the country to date through 317 projects, Kazakhstan is the EBRD’s largest and longest-running banking operation in Central Asia.