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.
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