EURASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK OPENS REPRESENTATION IN ARMENIA

ARKA
APRIL 27, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, April 27, /ARKA/. Armenian energy and natural resources
minister Armen Movsisyan and Igor Finogenov, board chairman of the
Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), have signed today in Yerevan an
agreement on the opening of the bank’s representation in Armenia

Speaking at the ceremony prime minister Tigran Sarkisian said Armenia
pins big hopes on this agreement welcoming the bank’s stepped up
activity in the country. He said Armenia submitted a package of
investment projects to the bank, designed to promote regional and
integration trends in the region, which local commercial banks are
still unable to support and fund.

He said two of these projects were designed to give a strong boost to
Armenian chemical and energy sectors, each estimated at $100 million.

The Eurasian Development bank has signed today also memoranda with
the energy and natural resources ministry, ArmRosgazprom natural
gas operator, the International Energy Company, the South Caucasus
Railways Company and Armbusinessbank.

‘We are interested to see large investment projects to materialize in
Armenia to stimulate economic development and integration trends, both
in the frameworks of the CIS and the Eurasian Economic Cooperation,’
Tigran Sarkisian said.

Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) was founded by Russia and Kazakhstan
in 2006. Armenia joined it in 2009 and submitted a package of 8 credit
projects worth $500 million. Igor Finogenov said the bank prioritizes
projects that are designed to deepen integration processes among EDB
member states. The loans provided by the bank are repayable in 10
years. The largest possible amount of a loan is $350 million. The
bank’s credit portfolio is above $1.3 billion.