AMERIABANK TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS ON SMALL HYDROPOWER PLANTS CONSTRUCTION AND SME CREDITING
"Armenians Today" publication is issued by "Noyan Tapan
14.10.2009
Ameriabank has completed negotiations with international financial
organizations on the credit programs for construction of small
hydropower plants and crediting of small and medium enterprises. The
bank plans to launch these programs in the 4th quarter of this year,
Ameriabank’s Director for Corporate Customers Levon Arevshatian
announced on October 13.
He said that two international financial organizations will finance
in two portions (15 million and 5 million dollars) a 20 million
dollar program envisaged for the companies which submitted bids
for credits on the construction of small hydropower or wind power
plants or their strengthening under the program on renewable energy
crediting. This measure will allow increasing the capacities of
Armenia’s small hydropower engineering by 15-20 megawatts through
construction of 5-7 power plants. The current capacities amount to
80-100 megawatts. In case of investment by the building companies as
well, these capacities will grow even more.
The credits will be provided at annual interest rates of 11% and over,
for a period of up to 8 years, with a 3 year grace period. The first
credits will be given in November-December 2009, which will enable
companies engaged in the energy sector to start construction in the
spring of 2010. Ameriabank’s representative expressed an opinion that
these conditions are quite competitive in terms of hydropower plant
construction, doing profitable work, and credit repayment.
According to L. Arevshatian, within the framework of the indicated
credit program, Ameriabank will cooperate with the RA Public Services
Regulatory Commission and some structures providing technical and
financial advice, and it will introduce an environmental risk
management system. He assured those present that the bank has
experience of crediting small hydropower plant construction with
its own financial resources. In starting the new credit program,
Ameriabank will ascertain whether the building contractor of the credit
borrower has experience in small hydropower plant construction and it
will also examine the existence of a design ensuring the hydropower
plant’s maxiumum efficiency and the conditions related to quality
and the sources of purchasing equipment.
As regards the SME crediting program, he said that it will open an
opportunity to improve the crediting conditions of medium business
– companies with up to 250 employees and an annual turnover of 15
million USD.
"We have conducted long negotiations with international financial
organizations with the aim of starting a program of crediting medium
business on preferential conditions," the bank official said, adding
that the program’s total cost will be 20-40 million USD, with loans
of up to 1.5 million USD to be provided. The crediting conditions
are the same as those of the renewable energy crediting program.
L. Arevshatian said that Ameriabank currently has a portfolio of
4-5 million USD for crediting small enterprises, with the share of
corporate crediting amounting to 35 billion drams out of the overall
crediting of 44 billion drams (about 114.3 million USD). The credit
portfolio grew by 41% in the third quarter of 2009. Credits for medium
enterprises make up 60-70% of the bank’s corporate portfolio.
In his words, the assets of Ameriabank made 93 billion drams at the
end of the third quarter of 2009 as compared to 86 billion drams at
the beginning of the same quarter.