Azerbaijan, Baku, April 29 / Trend , I.Khalilova/
Azerbaijani Finance Minister Samir Sharifov will leave for Bali, Indonesia this week to participate in the annual meeting of the Board of Managers of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to be held on May 2-5, the bank's Baku office said. Sharifov is an alternative manager from Azerbaijan at the bank and Economic Development Minister Shahin Mustafayev is the manager.
It is planned to hold a meeting with ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda and the bank's other senior officials during the visit.
The meetings usually address strategies of cooperation with a particular country. Until September 2007, the total portfolio of the projects funded by the ADB under state guarantee totaled $104 million. Three projects have been funded since Azerbaijan began cooperating with the ADB in 1999. The bank's total funding portfolio later grew to $519.4 million after $500 million was allocated for financing transportation projects and an energy project after approval was received from the Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF). Along with increasing funding under state guarantee, the ADB has become the main player in the direct financing of the banking sector in Azerbaijan.
Besides expanding amount of financing under a state guarantee, the Asian Bank turned into a key organization on directly financing Azerbaijan's banking sector. A banking delegation, comprising representatives of the International Bank of Azerbaijan and Texinka Bank left for Bali to participate in the annual meeting and discuss perspectives of future cooperation.
"Local banks will make a report on the situation with development of the country's banking sector and the ADB's possible assistance in applying new banking products," the office said.
At present the ADB has issued loans worth $56 million to Azerbaijani banks. The Asian Bank divulged its plans to expand portfolio on Azerbaijan's banking sector to $120 million in summer 2007, but these plans are delayed due to the global processes.
Volume of the ADB's technical assistance hit $10 million.
The ADB was founded in 1966 and has 67 members. The bank's headquarters is located in Manila. Azerbaijan joined the ADB on Dec. 22 in 1999 and the country's share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.
The ADB's leading shareholders are Japan and the United States (31.2 percent of total joint-stock capital), India and China (12.8 percent), Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 percent).
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