Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, November 25, 2013—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $12 million financing package to Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), helping the lender expand access to finance for smaller businesses and encouraging economic growth in the Kyrgyz Republic.

IFC will extend a $10 million loan to KICB and provide the bank with a $2 million credit line under its Global Trade Finance Program. That will allow KICB to offer financing to a greater number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), helping those businesses grow and create much-needed jobs. That is especially important in the Kyrgyz Republic, where credit penetration is less than 15 percent.

“KICB is focused on increasing lending to SMEs and IFC’s loan will help us further expand our support to these businesses,” said Kwang-Young Choi, CEO of KICB. “It will allow us to engage markets that lack access to credit and offer new products to support sustainable private sector development.”

KICB is one of the Kyrgyz Republic’s leading local banks and this IFC investment builds on a partnership between the two organizations that began in 2001.

“Through its investment and advisory support to local banks like KICB, IFC aims to expand the array of financial services offered to business owners and entrepreneurs,” said Edward Strawderman, IFC’s Associate Director for Financial Markets in Europe and Central Asia. “This new financing will help the bank create opportunities for SMEs, including those in rural areas, to grow and create more jobs.”  

The investment is part of IFC’s efforts in the Kyrgyz Republic to support private-sector development and encourage economic growth. The Kyrgyz Republic became a member of IFC in 1993. Since 1996, IFC has invested more than $100 million to support over 21 private sector projects across a variety of sectors.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

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About the IFC Global Trade Finance Program
Since its launch in 2005, the IFC Global Trade Finance Program has issued more than 16,000 guarantees totaling $27 billion to banks for trade-related payment obligations of their financial-institution clients in emerging markets. The GTFP includes more than 500 participating banks.

About KICB
Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank was founded in 2001 to support the long-term development of the Kyrgyz economy. KICB has a network of twelve branches and 19 sub-branches providing universal banking services across the country. For more information, visit www.kicb.net.