Japan Post Insurance Co buys full amount of latest EBRD bond
EBRD at Davos Week
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso led a senior EBRD delegation at this week’s virtual Davos conference. The President will speak at a panel on “Building on Europe’s Edge in the Green Transition” Friday at 5pm, OCE Chief Economist Beata Javorcik participated in a discussion on “Preparing for Deglobalisation” and Managing Director Sustainable Infrastructure Group Nandita Parshad chaired a panel on “Accelerating Clean Energy Transitions”.
Chief Economist Beata Javorcik also participated in the Frankfurt Finance Week. On a panel about “The state remains centrestage” she presented the findings of the latest EBRD Transition Report. Her comments about the role of state-owned banks and their risk-taking capacity as well as their exposure to political consideration were also covered by the media.
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EBRD President warns against rising inequality
Speaking to the leading French newspaper Le Monde, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso expressed her concerns about the widening inequalities caused by the recession following the coronavirus pandemic. Ms Renaud-Basso underlined that this matter is one of the EBRD’s priorities and is particularly urgent. She also warned that delays in the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines will have an impact on the recovery.
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Dealing with the effects of climate change through climate adaptation
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso joined world leaders during the (virtual) Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS), hosted by the Netherlands, with the aim to galvanise and scale up global efforts to address the impacts of climate change. In her intervention she emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in how markets internalise climate risk in order to drive capital towards more resilient economic development.
EBRD shareholders approve membership of UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken the first step to become a member of the EBRD with the Bank’s Board of Governors’ approval of its request to become a shareholder of the multilateral financial institution. The membership is expected to create new business opportunities and benefit many of the economies where the EBRD invests, especially in the UAE’s vicinity.
Project signings
Largest Green Transition Bond private placement
The EBRD issued its largest private placement of a Green Transition Bond yet this week and the first such placement to be bought solely by a Japanese investor. The Japan Post Insurance Co. purchased the bond for AUD 280 million and the Bank will use the proceeds to finance green transition projects that seek to enable significant improvements towards decarbonisation and improvement of resource efficiency in key sectors of the economy such as manufacturing and food production.
Supporting Serbia to expand broadband to rural areas
In Serbia, an €18 million EBRD loan and a €1.7 million Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) grant will allow the country to finance the design and construction of fibre broadband infrastructure to gain access to fast broadband in rural regions of the country.
€20 million risk-sharing facility with Bank Attijari Tunisia
In Tunisia, the EBRD is increasing access to finance for micro and small businesses with the provision of a €20 million Risk Sharing Framework (RSF) to Banque Attijari Tunisia. The financing will help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the local economy.
Supporting green investments in Tajikistan
In Tajikistan, the EBRD organised a financing package of US$ 4 million to the largest private lender Bank Eskhata under its Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) to support green financing for households and small private-sector companies investing in green technology solutions.
Donors
Helping Azerbaijani Pizza Mizza grow its brand
The EBRD’s business advisory programme, funded by the EU, assisted the Azerbaijani brand Pizza Mizza in identifying an optimal marketing strategy to offer their customers amazing food, consistent delivery and to create an identity and concept to remember. Business New Europe dedicated a story to this initiative.
EBRD in the News
Following her panel in Davos. EBRD Managing Director Sustainable Infrastructure Group Nandita Parshad spoke to China’s CGTN’s Global Business programme about the acceleration of clean energy transition and the private sector’s role in it.
EBRD Director, Energy EMEA, Harry Boyd-Carpenter, and Associate Director Anna Chmielewska spoke with the project finance magazine Refinitv about the offshore wind sector in Poland. The EBRD representatives expressed their confidence in the development of the sector and underlined the associated risks are now “bankable”.
EBRD Head of Bosnia and Herzegovina visited the largest nationwide independent broadcaster N1 for an interview about the economic prospects of the country. She underlined the Bank’s continuous support with a focus on the private sector.
Andreea Moraru, EBRD Director for Greece, spoke to the daily Kathimerini’s new financial edition Money Review about the Bank’s investments in 2020 and its plans for the next years, highlighting the EBRD’s support for green projects, the energy and banking sectors.
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Comments by the EBRD Deputy Director for Ukraine Alexander Pavlov about a possible engagement of the Bank in the privatisation of the state-owned lender Oshchadbank were widely reported in in the country this week. He said: “Provided that the transformation of Oshchadbank and the state-owned banking sector as a whole continues to move in the right direction, we hope to reach a deal already in 2021.”
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