In Washington, DC:
Ludi Joseph
Phone: +1 (202) 473 7700
E-mail: ljoseph@ifc.org

In Moscow:
Nezhdana Bukova
Phone: + 7 (495) 411 7555 ext 2026
E-mail: nbukova@ifc.org


Washington D.C./ Kazan, Russian Federation, February 20, 2008—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with the Russian Federation’s Ava Peter Limited to expand private health care in Kazan and St. Petersburg. This will help improve access to high-quality
medical services in both cities.

IFC will provide a loan of 305 million rubles (about $12 million) as part of a $36 million project to build a new 40-bed hospital in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan, in a public-private partnership with the Kazan municipality. The Kazan hospital will focus on mother and child health care services, including large ambulatory, diagnostic, and medical care units.

The project also includes expanding the company’s existing network of satellite primary care outpatient clinics in St. Petersburg by establishing seven additional clinics across the city. The new clinics will complement the 18-bed medical facility owned by Ava Peter’s operating partner, New Medical Center in St. Petersburg, which was partly financed by IFC in 2001 with a $2 million loan.

Dr. Ralph Ashorn, Chairman of Ava Peter Ltd., said, “We are delighted to have IFC’s and the Kazan municipality’s support in establishing high-quality maternal and child health care services in the city of Kazan. We also appreciate IFC’s help in expanding our network of clinics in St. Petersburg.  We hope this project will help meet the growing demand for medical services as well as become a standard-setter for the industry in Russia.”

Guy Ellena, IFC Director for Health and Education, said, “There is considerable growth potential in Russia’s private health sector with the growing demand for high-quality medical services at the federal and municipal level. IFC is very pleased to support one of the first public-private partnerships in the sector.”

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that people should have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit  www.ifc.org.

Russia became a member and shareholder of IFC in 1993. IFC’s investment portfolio in the country stands at $2 billion, making it the largest country exposure for IFC globally.  IFC has invested in key sectors including agribusiness, banking, construction materials, health care, housing finance, information technologies, infrastructure, leasing, mining, oil and gas, pulp and paper, retail, and telecommunications. For more information, please visit www.ifc.org/europe.

About Ava Peter Ltd. and New Medical Center
Ava Peter Ltd. was established in 1996 in St. Petersburg and specializes in high-quality reproductive and maternal health care services. It also operates three satellite primary care outpatient clinics across St. Petersburg. The New Medical Center was established in 2001 with a $10 million investment in a medical facility in St. Petersburg. The facility opened in 2004 and consists of a family medicine center, a range of specialty outpatient clinics, diagnostic services (laboratory and imaging), and an 18-bed surgical and medical inpatient unit. The companies are pioneers in providing a comprehensive range of high-quality, private in-house diagnostic and treatment services targeted at the emerging middle class in Russia.