Uzbekistan became largest recipient of EBRD funding in Central Asia in 2020
EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink led a delegation of senior management to Uzbekistan this week for meetings with the authorities and business representatives. The delegation met Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Investments and Foreign Economic Affairs and EBRD Governor Sardor Umurzakov and Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov in Tashkent. The EBRD Managing Director for Central Asia, Zsuzsanna Hargitai also joined the meetings.
Highlights of the visit included the opening of a new EBRD office in Urgench, Samarkand joining the Bank’s Green Cities Programme and the signing of several investment projects.
Media coverage of the first senior official EBRD visit since March 2020 was substantial and positive. Local and regional media outlets such as Uzdaily, Podrobno UZ, Kun, Sputnik, Regnum Rossa Primavera and Vestikavkaza shared details of the visit and signed projects.
EBRD Green Cities Annual Conference 2021
With the decisive COP26 global climate summit approaching this November, and the proportion of the world’s population living in cities growing every year, the EBRD’s flagship EBRD Green Cities programme gathered international experts to explore how cities can address the climate emergency and lead the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
During the two-day event mayors, private sector experts and thought leaders spoke about the role cities and the private sector play in accelerating climate action. Dr Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, which last month issued a widely praised roadmap for decarbonising the energy sector by 2050, delivered a keynote address.
How “Back to Nature” can also improve lives in big cities is described here and here
EBRD joins 2X Challenge to empower women
The EBRD joined the 2X Challenge, an initiative calling on the G7 group of nations and development finance institutions to step up their investments in the empowerment of women, this week. EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso announced the Bank’s decision during an event and said: “This highlights our strong commitment to promoting gender equality - as one of the strategic priorities of the Bank - through our investments, policy engagement as well as regional and global partnerships.”
Helping Ukraine develop capital and organised commodity markets
The government of Ukraine, the EBRD, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham Ukraine) joined forces to develop domestic capital and organised commodity markets to help attract investment to Ukraine and finance the country’s economic growth. EBRD Managing Director Matteo Patrone said: “Our goal is to involve the private sector in the development of these markets and introduce transparent and efficient market-based procedures that are fully aligned with the principles of good governance and recognised regulation.”
NPLs stable in central and south-eastern Europe during Covid-19 pandemic
The EBRD published its latest NPL Monitor report this week. According to the report, massive state intervention in the economy has prevented a rise in non-performing loans (NPLs) during the Covid-19 pandemic in central and southeastern Europe, but the quality of bank assets after the phasing out of public measures “remains uncertain.”
Whole-life carbon roadmap for Poland
A new study “How to Decarbonise the Built Environment by 2050: Whole Life Carbon Roadmap for Poland” was published by the Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC) in cooperation with the EBRD this week. It suggests that buildings play a crucial role in Poland’s effort to meet the 2050 net-zero emissions goal.
Signings
EBRD opens regional office in western Uzbekistan
EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink opened the Bank’s new regional office in Urgench, a city in western Uzbekistan, to support local small businesses with expert advice, training and financial tools.
Financing modern water supply infrastructure in rural Uzbekistan
An EBRD sovereign loan of up to US$ 70 million was extended to Uzbekistan’s regional water utility Namangan Suv Ta’minoti to support the construction and rehabilitation of water intakes, distribution stations and networks, mains and a water treatment plant serving rural settlements in the east of the country. The project will also help finance the construction of wastewater treatment plants, wastewater pumping stations and networks in selected settlements.
Providing US$ 45 million to major lender in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s second-largest lender Uzpromstroybank (UzPSB) became the second bank in the country to join the EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) this week with a loan of up to US$ 25 million for on-lending to domestic SMEs willing to invest in climate mitigation and adaptation technologies and services. The EBRD will also help UzPSB to expand lending to the local private sector by offering new financial resources of up to US$ 20 million under a risk-sharing framework.
EBRD Green Cities welcomes Samarkand as its 48th …
Through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, Samarkand became the first city in Uzbekistan to boost its urban sustainability planning by joining the Bank’s €3-billion flagship programme, EBRD Green Cities as the 48th member. On joining the sustainability programme, cities undertake a trigger project with the EBRD finance – in Samarkand’s case this is expected to be an investment in electric buses – and draft a Green City Action Plan, setting out further actions to improve the local environment.
…and Dnipro as its 49th member
In Ukraine, Dnipro’s Mayor Borys Filatov and Sue Goeranssen, the EBRD’s Director, Sustainable Infrastructure Group Europe, signed a Memorandum of Understanding which kick-started its urban regeneration by joining the EBRD’s EBRD Green Cities programme as the 49th member.
Learn more here, here and here
EBRD and insurer Euler Hermes are joining forces in risk - and green bonds
The EBRD and trade credit insurer Euler Hermes SA/NV, with the support of the Texel Group, an independent insurance broker, signed a master risk participation agreement to boost cooperation through the Bank’s unfunded risk participation programme to support investments in green bonds.
€100 million stand-by credit line to Albania’s Deposit Insurance Agency
In order to strengthen the stability of the local banking sector and boost customers’ confidence the EBRD provided a €100 million stand-by credit line to the Albanian Deposit Insurance Agency (ADIA) to back-up liquidity following the Covid-19 pandemic and its severe impact on the economy.
Investing in Slovenská sporiteľňa green bonds
The EBRD invested €20 million in the first senior-preferred green bond issued by Slovenská sporiteľňa which will be traded on the Bratislava Stock Exchange. The EBRD’s investment supports green market practices in the Slovak Republic ‒ one of the Bank’s key goals in the country.
Donors
Pandemic-proof local food shopping in Montenegro
In Montenegro, with the EBRD’s help and donor support from the EU-funded Western Balkan Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (WBEDIF), Voli supermarket successfully launched an online grocery service.
Helping Vitinka modernise water production
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the SME Competitiveness Support Programme, which is supported by funding from the EU, the EBRD helped Vitinka, a leading bottled mineral water company to step up its eco-friendly production and invest in modern equipment.
EBRD in the news
From Armenia…
EBRD Managing Director, Financial Institutions, Francis Malige, gave an interview to Panarmenian, the first online news agency in Armenia, on how challenging the 2020 was for the EBRD, on the global economy recovery after the crisis, new projects and opportunities and the current state of the in Armenia’s banking system.
… to Albania
In an interview with the newspaper Albanian Daily News, EBRD Director for Western Balkans Matteo Colangeli discussed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis on the region and the effective role the EBRD has been playing in helping its economic recovery. According to him, the economic recovery is already under way in the region and the crisis should be used as an opportunity for rebuilding greener, more inclusive and digitalised economies.
EBRD on social media
The Bank began highlighting some of the guests appearing at our Annual Meeting and Business Forum
The Mayor of Tirana explained how the EBRD Green Cities programme helped the Albanian capital build a sustainable future.
The city of Belgrade completed its Green City Action Plan.
The EBRD Know How Academy now has over 16,000 registered users!
Subscribe to instant email updates on the EBRD news about topics such as coronavirus and climate finance.
