DEVELOPMENT (OFID) SIGNED ON NOVEMBER 5 A TRADE FINANCE LOAN AGREEMENT AND AN AGREEMENT WITH A TOTAL OF $5MLN
ARKA
Nov 17, 2008
YEREVAN, November 17. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Inecobank and the OPEC Fund
for International Development (OFID) signed on November 5 a trade
finance loan agreement and an agreement with a total of $5mln.
According to the first Agreement, OFID will provide Inecobank CJSC
$2mln loan for trade finance projects in Armenia. The organizations
will also extend to Inecobank a credit line worth $3mln for promoting
small and medium-sized businesses.
Avetis Baloyan, Inecobank’s chief executive officer said both
agreements open a new page in the long-term and mutually beneficial
collaboration between Inecobank and OFID. The funds will help develop
the private sector in Armenia by contributing to the country’s economic
development, he added.
Alla Pavlova, head of the bank’s external relations department, thanked
OFID for trusting Inecobank. Adopting a smart business strategy,
Inecobank was able to escape the negative impact of the global
financial crisis and maintained good performance indicators, she added.
OFID Director General Suleiman J. Al-Herbish said the organization
was impressed by the Inecobank’s quick development and its effective
programs for assisting small and medium businesses.
Established by OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries) in January 1976, OFID aims at promoting South-South
cooperation by extending assistance non-OPEC developing countries.
To date, OFID has assigned over $9.8 billion for 121 developing
countries.
The funds include project and program loans, balance of payments
support and HIPC debt relief. OFID’s recently established Trade Finance
Facility also provides financial assistance to developing economies.
Inecobank CJSC was registered on February 7, 1996. The bank has been
extending consumer loans since December 1997.
DEG (Deutsche Investititions-und Entwicklunsgesellschaft), member
of the leading German KfW Banking Group, is 13.5% shareholder of
Inecobank. IFC, WB member holds 10% of the bank’s shares.
Inecobank cooperates with USAID, KfW, Black Sea Trade and Development
Bank and other leading international organizations.
Last year EBRD acknowledged Inecobank as "the most active Armenian
bank in the field of trade loans". The bank ranks 26th on the Forbes’
MIX list among the top 50 micro-financing organizations.
Inecobank’s assets and capital totaled 41.1bln drams and 7.8bln drams
as of September 30, 2008. The bank’s authorized capital stock amounts
to 1.4bln drams, with its loan portfolio totaling 29.4bln drams. The
bank recorded 1.1bln drams worth Q1-Q3 profit.
According to ARKA, Inecobank ranks 9th among 22 banks for assets,
13th for total deposits and 7th for loans.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
