From left to right, the heads of the Inter-American and African Development Banks, the EBRD and the Asian Development Bank in Washington DC.
EBRD President: Embrace carbon pricing
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso has set out the Bank’s position for the upcoming COP26 climate summit. In an interview with Bloomberg in Washington this week she made the case for carbon pricing, because without such a mechanism “you have a distorted market and it is much more difficult to have a bankable project.”
The EBRD President was speaking on the margins of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting, which saw a slight downward revision of the global growth forecast for 2021 from 6.0 to 5.9 per cent following rising infection rates, global supply disruptions and growing inflationary pressures. In addition to numerous bilateral meetings, the President also attended the meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors and chaired the meeting of Heads of Regional Development Banks to discuss COP26, climate action initiatives, coordination with the G20 and post-pandemic priorities.
In a live interview with CNN’s Richard Quest, the EBRD President explained how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the EBRD regions, what the Bank is doing to support the green transition and why the EBRD “is still around the block.”
EBRD First Vice President: A green economy must be an inclusive economy
Concluding a visit to Lithuania, EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink gave an interview to the regional news wire service BNS and said: “Greening the economy should not mean increasing the exclusion of a certain part of the population”. He emphasised that over the past ten years thanks to technological progress and the development of competitive markets, the cost of renewable energy has fallen significantly and renewables have become widespread and affordable.
EBRD and EIB to deepen cooperation outside EU
The EBRD and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have agreed to deepen their cooperation, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of their delivery in countries outside the European Union where they both operate.
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso and EIB President Werner Hoyer signed a Framework Project Cooperation Agreement in London with the goal of maximising their joint impact that provides a framework for enhanced cooperation on joint financing projects and platforms outside the European Union.
Gaps in climate disclosure will hit corporate access to capital, EBRD warns
The majority of companies in emerging markets have little visibility on what their climate risk exposure might be. This gap in governance and disclosure “has real near-term implications for emerging market corporates’ access to and cost of capital”, the EBRD warned this week, citing credit rating agencies and asset managers. The EBRD has a key role to play as a bridge between major investors in developed markets and emerging markets corporates looking for finance.
BBC Food Security webinar with EBRD’s Natalia Zhukova
Global hunger is on the rise, reversing decades of progress. More than two billion people now lack year-round access to adequate food. Climate change, extreme weather events, conflicts and economic downturns are some of the factors driving growing food insecurity. So what is being done to reverse this decline and what else is needed? EBRD Director of Agribusiness, Natalia Zhukova joined an experts’ panel organised by the BBC and said: “We all must work together to avoid this crisis hitting those hardest who are already struggling with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Kamola Makhmudova assumes role as EBRD Head of Azerbaijan
Kamola Makhmudova has assumed her role as new head of the EBRD for Azerbaijan. She will be responsible for the Bank’s investments and operations in the Caucasus country and succeeds Ivana Duarte.
Project signings and agreements
Investing in Latvia’s AST inaugural green bond
Acting as an anchor investor, the EBRD has supported the issuance of a €100 million green bond by Latvia’s state-owned transmission system operator, AST. The EBRD’s participation resulted in an investment of €14.2 million.
Stepping up support for small businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The EBRD is extending a loan of up to €5 million to UniCredit Bank a.d. Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina to improve access to finance for local SMEs under the Bank’s SME Competitiveness Programme.
Promoting Tunisia’s olive-oil sector
The EBRD is supporting olive-oil production in Tunisia with a TND 20 million (€6.2 million) loan to Compagnie Générale des Industries Alimentaires (COGIA SA). The Bank’s funds will enable COGIA to grow its sourcing, bottling and exports of Tunisian olive oil.
Supporting SEEM, manufacturer of intravenous fluids in Uzbekistan
The EBRD and Uzbekistan’s second-largest lender, Uzpromstroybank, are providing new funds to support and strengthen local manufacturers of medical goods in order to meet growing market demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The EBRD will finance 50 per cent of a €7.82 million loan provided by UzPSB to local medical producer Samarkand England Eco-Medical (SEEM). This will be the first transaction under a 50:50 risk-sharing framework signed between the two banks.
Supporting insulation materials maker in Uzbekistan
The EBRD is contributing to industrial and residential energy efficiency in Uzbekistan and Central Asia by supporting Ecoclimat Group (Ecoclimat), the region’s only producer of glass wool, as the firm expands production capacity with a loan of US$ 5 million to help the company launch Angren Insulation, a greenfield manufacturing facility for the production of glass-wool insulation materials. The plant will be located in a free economic zone near the country’s capital, Tashkent.
Boosting youth participation in Egypt’s economy
The EBRD is increasing economic opportunities in Egypt by collaborating with Hyundai Rotem, a manufacturer of rolling stock, to offer certified training to 80 unemployed young people that will focus on topics related to the maintenance of rolling stock for Cairo Metro Line-II, a major infrastructure project which the EBRD supported in 2016 with a loan of up to €100 million.
Donors
The agritourism boom, better waste management in Ulaanbaatar, cleaning up Central Asia’s poisonous uranium past, UK donor day, and much more.
EBRD on social media
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso was in Washington DC this week, where she attended the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting.
Our Heike Harmgart is amongst the top women leading transformation in the SEMED region! She promotes diversity and inclusion in our EBRD regions.
EBRD and EIB are “at the heart of the EU’s financial architecture,” our President Odile Renaud-Basso said at a signing with EIB President Werner Hoyer.
This week we celebrated World Food Day with FAO, where star chef Damir Moskov cooked some wonderful Montenegrin pasta!
Did you know that more than 40 percent of Mongolians cook with flour on a daily basis? We helped flour producer Oeg Flour improve food safety and acquire an international certification, while making its operations more efficient.
