IFC Helps Expand Access to Finance for Smaller Businesses in Kazakhstan
In Washington, D.C.:
Lotte Pang
Phone: +1 202 758 4290
E-mail: LPang@ifc.org
In Belgrade:
Slobodan Brkic
Phone: +381 11 3023 750
E-mail: SBrkic@ifc.org
Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 23, 2008—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that it will provide
a $45 million five-year senior loan to JSC Bank CenterCredit (BCC) that
will enable the bank to extend loans to small and medium enterprises in
Kazakhstan.
IFC’s investment will help address the limited access to finance for Kazakhstan’s
small businesses, which has been exacerbated by the global liquidity crisis.
IFC previously provided BCC with a loan in 2005 and a trade finance line
in 2006.
“We are pleased to consolidate our strategic relationship with IFC through
this transaction,” said Vladislav Lee, Chairman of BCC’s Management Board.
“With IFC’s loan we can increase our support to small and medium enterprises,
confirming our traditional commitment to them and further expanding our
role in SME financing in Kazakhstan.”
Shahbaz Mavaddat, IFC Director for Southern Europe and Central Asia, said,
“BCC has become IFC’s main platform for scaling up financing for Kazakhstan’s
smaller businesses. We are pleased to extend this new loan and to continue
supporting the bank under difficult conditions in international financial
markets.”
BCC is the sixth-largest bank in Kazakhstan in terms of total assets, holding
7.2 percent of total banking system assets. It provides a full range of
banking products, including corporate loans (mainly to small and medium
enterprises and micro entrepreneurs), car loans, consumer loans, and mortgage
finance. Its branch network includes 20 full-service branches, 187
retail branches, and 303 automated teller machines.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to
escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic
growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development,
mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation
services to businesses and governments. IFC’s new investments totaled
$16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year.
For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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