IFC APPROVES FIRST INVESTMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN US$2 MILLION FINANCING FOR ABN-AMRO BANK
Jeanne Segal
KAZAKHSTAN ALMATY, Oct. 12 -- Sir William
Ryrie, Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation
(IFC), announced at a press conference the approval of the Corporation's
first investment in Kazakhstan. IFC will take an equity holding of 20%
in ABN-Amro Bank Kazakhstan (AABK). IFC's investment will support the establishment
of the first international joint venture commercial bank in Kazakhstan.
AABK will provide essential banking services to local enterprises as well
as to international joint ventures currently being established in Kazakhstan.
AABK is a joint venture between ABN-Amro, a leading Netherlands bank, Kramds
Bank, the largest local private group in Kazakhstan, and IFC. ABN-AMRO
will furnish the technical management for AABK, which is intended to serve
as a model for the country's efforts to modernize and expand the banking
sector. Initially AABK will focus on supporting foreign trade through letters
of credit and foreign exchange transfers. It will also offer financial
advisory ser
vices to multinationals exploring business opportunities in Kazakhstan.
Later, it will expand its services to provide working capital as well as
medium-term loans for private sector businesses. During the press conference,
Sir William outlined IFC's strategy in Kazakhstan. IFC will adopt a three-pronged
approach to developing the Republic's private financial sector: providing
technical assistance, assisting in institution building and mobilizing
financing from foreign investors. "The outlook for foreign investment
in Kazakhstan is quite favorable, and AABK is the first of several investments
which the Corporation hopes to make in Kazakhstan during this fiscal year,"
said Sir William. The Republic of Kazakhstan joined IFC on September 30,
1993. Over the past year, IFC executives have made frequent visits to Kazakhstan
and identified possible investments in hotel and business center construction,
oil and gas production, mining, construction materials, agroprocessing,
telecommunications, and capital markets. In
addition, IFC is working to identify technical assistance projects, such
as privatization and business advisory services, where its unique experience
can contribute to the acceleration of the country's transformation to a
market economy. IFC is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and
the largest multilateral source of direct project financing for private
sector projects in developing countries.
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