Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.24
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and UniCredit Group will lend $260 million to Kazakh mining company Voskhod Chromium, a subsidiary of Turkey's Yildirim Group, EBRD reported.
The loan agreement was signed on Feb 23 in London in the presence of EBRD President, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov and senior representatives of UniCredit Group.
The financing will be used by Yildirim Group to restructure the Voskhod mine and improve its efficiency and competitiveness while reinforcing the overall environmental and operational health and safety standards. The plan also includes the acquisition of new mining equipment from world-class manufacturers, the expansion of facilities and intense underground mine development works.
The facility will consist of two portions: the EBRD will provide $130 million for its own account, and an equal amount will be provided by UniCredit Group.
On the day of the signing, in a separate event, the EBRD hosted a meeting of the Mining Subgroup of the UK-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Commission, created after an agreement between the UK Prime Minister and the President of Kazakhstan to support cross-border investment and business cooperation between the two business communities. Both recent and anticipated changes in the subsoil use legislation were discussed by delegates including the Minister of Investments and Development of Kazakhstan, UK Trade and Investment and UK Export Finance agencies, and mining and service companies which are active or are considering investment opportunities in Kazakhstan.
To date, the EBRD has invested about $7 billion into various sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan, with investments in 2014 alone reaching a record level of about $700 million.
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