|
EBRD $141 million loan for Inpromleasing supports Russian railway reform
$85 million of loan being syndicated to commercial banks
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing a $141.5 million loan to Russia’s Inpromleasing to help achieve one of the key goals of the country’s on-going railways reform: encouraging private sector investment in new rolling stock needed to meet growing demand in a booming market.
The EBRD’s funding will enable Inpromleasing, an independent leasing company founded in 2000, to finance the purchase of freight wagons to be made in Russia. The wagons purchased with the EBRD loan are to be leased to three Russian private rail operators.
The Bank will remain the lender of record for the full amount, but is syndicating $84.9 million to commercial banks under an EBRD A/B loan structure. The EBRD is keeping $56.6 million on its own books as the A portion of the loan, which has a seven-year maturity.
The EBRD’s funding will enable Inpromleasing, an independent leasing company founded in 2000, to finance the purchase of freight wagons to be made in Russia. The wagons purchased with the EBRD loan are to be leased to three Russian private rail operators.
The Bank recognises that current shortage of rolling stock in Russia is one of the top priorities to be addressed in the transport sector and this project is a direct response to the Russian government’s investment incentives aimed at tackling this problem, said Thomas Maier, EBRD Business Group Director for Infrastructure.
The Russian railways sector, traditionally dominated by state funding and support, has undergone radical restructuring in the last five years. Since 2001, the Russian government has been pushing through a wide-ranging reform aimed at improving the efficiency and profitability of rail services and encouraging private investment in the sector’s modernisation.
Railway investment needs in Russia are at present estimated at hundreds of billions of roubles for rolling stock renewal and infrastructure over the next 10 years.
|
