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EBRD's trade programme expands in Uzbekistan
The EBRD is expanding its activities under the Trade Facilitation Programme in
Uzbekistan with a $5 million guarantee facility to Uzjilsberbank. The facility
will be used for guarantees to cover Uzjilsberbank’s trade-related obligations
to private sector clients.
Uzjilsberbank is one of Uzbekistan’s top 5 banks and the EBRD’s most recent
partner bank and a new participant in TFP. Active in private sector
development, the bank also received a $5 million credit line in May 2004 under
the EBRD’s Japan-Uzbekistan Small Business Programme for lending to private
micro and small enterprises in Uzbekistan.
The deal is part of the EBRD's Trade Facilitation Programme, initiated in 1999
to support trade to, from and within the Bank’s 27 countries of operations.
The EBRD guarantees payment obligations of local issuing banks to their
Western confirming counterparts in respect of trade-finance instruments.
The programme enables trade which otherwise could not be realised. Examples
are the export of Lithuanian butter to Uzbekistan, the sale of Italian
pasta-making equipment to Siberia and the delivery of wheat from Kazakhstan to
Madeira. Most transactions are between small and medium-seized enterprises,
enhancing job creation and inter-regional cooperation.
In 2003, the programme had its best year so far, with business volume growing
by 26 per cent to €467 million. More than 80 issuing banks in the EBRD’s
countries of operations participate in the programme, with limits exceeding
€600 million, while more than 500 confirming banks have joined TFP worldwide.
Under TFP, training is provided to member banks to enhance trade finance
skills. The EBRD has organised training courses financed by the governments of
Austria, France and Ireland for more than 300 bankers from 65 banks in 15
countries.
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