BISHKEK (TCA) — The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Halyk Bank Kyrgyzstan entered into framework agreements for a total of US $5 million to support trade finance and SME finance programs. The instruments were signed on 8 August by Dmitry Ladikov-Roev, Managing Director for Assets and Liabilities at the EDB, and Aikyn Kabulov, Chairman of the Management Board at Halyk Bank Kyrgyzstan. The trade finance agreement is the EDB’s first transaction of this kind in Kyrgyzstan.
Halyk Bank Kyrgyzstan will select sub-borrowers on its own, using the EDB’s eligibility criteria. The sub-loans may be extended in the US dollars, Russian roubles, euro, Kyrgyz som, and Kazakh tenge.
“The agreement we signed today continues our long-time cooperation and is an essential milestone in performing the EDB’s programme to support trade finance in the Kyrgyz Republic. We hope that our efforts will stimulate local banks to make wider use of trade finance and this conforms to the mission and strategy of the EDB as a development institution,” Dmitry Ladikov-Roev said.
The projects between the EDB and Halyk Bank Kyrgyzstan are expected to foster the sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Kyrgyz Republic, enhance the competitive environment and thereby stimulate production, expand the range of goods and services, and improve the quality of products. By supporting SMEs, Kyrgyzstan will achieve a significant effect in developing its market economy.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth, and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. The EDB’s charter capital totals US $7 billion. The member states of the Bank are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and Tajikistan.
Halyk Bank Kyrgyzstan is part of the Halyk Group owned by Halyk Bank Kazakhstan. The bank was set up after Halyk Bank Kazakhstan, a leader of Kazakhstan’s banking market, purchased 100% of Kairat Bank. The bank is headquartered in Bishkek and has four branches there, as well as one branch in each of Osh, Jalal-Abad, Kara-Suu, Kara-Balta, and Cholpon Alta, and savings offices in Bishkek, Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Uzgen.
