EBRD and Inecobank to finance glass manufacturer in Armenia
Investment loan to the largest glass bottle producer in Armenia for further development. Supporting Saranist to expand volumes to meet increased demand. A joint funding instrument designed to support local businesses.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Inecobank to provide Saranist with a medium-term loan for production expansion and working capital.
Saranist, the largest glass bottle producer in Armenia and the leading player in the region, will use the funds to increase production volumes to help satisfy rising demand in the Armenian and regional markets and offer an alternative to more expensive imported glass products.
The project is the first deal signed under Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) that EBRD has with Inecobank. RSF is one of the core financing frameworks of the EBRD’s Small Business Initiative, a programme dedicated to supporting and developing local private sector. RSF, a popular funding instrument, designed to allow the EBRD to share partner banks’ exposures to local enterprises through either funded or unfunded risk participation.
“We are excited to have an opportunity to support Saranist in its drive to expand the range of its high quality products by meeting the increased demand and largely substituting the import markets for the region. RSF is an additional financing framework we share with Inecobank that allows us to further support local private businesses, which is one of the EBRD’s key priorities in Armenia.” said George Akhalkatsi, EBRD Head of Armenia.
“This new type of cooperation with EBRD is the successful continuation of our long standing partnership. We are very glad to be a partner for RSF and specifically to sign a first deal with Saranist, which is outstanding company in terms of its contribution to Armenian economy.” mentioned Hayk Voskanyan, Inecobank CEO.
The EBRD is one of the leading institutional investors in Armenia. Since the beginning of its operations there, it has invested around €2 billion across 206 projects, supporting private sector development and the energy, infrastructure, telecommunications and financial sectors.