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Croatian agribusiness to receive a second loan from EBRD
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will support the development of Croatian agribusiness, a significant contributor to the country’s economy, through a DEM 10 million (ECU 5.3 million) loan to Agro-Obrtnicka Banka (AOB), a commercial bank incorporated under Croatian law. The agreement was signed in London today by Hans-Christian Jacobsen, Co-Director of the Agribusiness team of the EBRD, and Durdica Kunstic, Chief Executive and Managing Director of AOB.
At the signing, Mr Jacobsen said: “This project is instrumental in promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises within Croatian agribusiness, which will assist in the recovery of the sector as a whole. It will also support the growth and strengthen the operations of AOB, with specific emphasis on the development of term funding for SMEs”.
The proceeds of the two-tranche loan will mainly be used by privately-owned firms to finance medium and long-term investment projects of up to DEM 1 million in agribusiness and related industries. AOB has already identified a pipeline of eligible projects covering all areas of the industry, from primary production, agro-processing, food-packaging and distribution, through to wood-processing, aqua-culture and fisheries. The project also includes a Technical Cooperation Programme to finance the services of a credit adviser who will assist AOB in utilising the loan.
Established in April 1993 by a number of private enterprises (predominantly within agribusiness), AOB has sought to fill a gap in the market by providing a full range of banking services to farmers, entrepreneurs and SMEs in the agribusiness sector. With the progressive expansion of its business, AOB opened eight branches within 1993 and 1994 to provide a network in Central Croatia and Slavonia (North East Croatia), currently employing 90 people. AOB’s objective for the next three to five years is to become one of the top 20 banks in Croatia.
A similar loan was signed on 20 July with Dalmatinska Banka for an amount of DEM 20 million (ECU 10.6 million).
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