BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. This week, the chairperson of AccessBank's board of directors, Davit Tsiklauri, told Trend that AccessBank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will sign an agreement on joint lending to companies in Azerbaijan.
“AccessBank has signed several agreements with the EBRD this year and has already started using the provided funds. In addition, we will soon sign a Risk Sharing Facility with the EBRD. This agreement opens for us the possibility of joint lending to companies in Azerbaijan. Unlike the usual scheme where the EBRD provides funds and we give them in the form of loans, here we are talking about joint lending to a specific Azerbaijani company. What does this give us? First of all, it allows us to lend to larger projects. Thanks to cooperation with the EBRD, we can combine our resources and provide a loan that will significantly exceed the possible limits if we were working alone,” he said.
Tsiklauri also noted that AccessBank's return on equity will be above the target by the end of 2024. Adding that soon the bank plans to bring Apple Pay payment solution to the market.
Moreover, AccessBank is currently in talks with potential new investors.
According to him, one of the potential partners of AccessBank is DFC (US International Development Finance Corporation).
“They were active in Azerbaijan in the early 2000s and 2010s, providing loans and guarantees, but then stopped their activities in the country. We have been negotiating with them for almost two years, and although there is no final agreement yet, the probability of its successful completion is high,” he added.
Furthermore, it was announced this week that the EBRD is mulling over a loan for a fresh project that aims to clean up the water supply and sanitation system in the city of Ganja.
The initiative is expected to receive a sovereign loan of up to 370 million euros, with the approval date scheduled for November 6, 2024.
Meanwhile, it was also announced about the improvement of ING analysts' forecast of GDP growth in Azerbaijan for 2025. Thus, economists expect moderate GDP growth in Azerbaijan - at the level of 3.5 percent (previously forecasted 3.8 percent) in 2024, as well as 2.6 percent - in 2025 (previously forecasted 2.5 percent) and 2.8 percent - in 2026 (unchanged).
In addition, ING analysts forecast average annual inflation in Azerbaijan to be 2.2 percent in 2024 (1.5 percent in the last forecast), 4.7 percent in 2025 (four percent in the last forecast), and 4.5 percent in 2026 (4.2 percent).
This week, an informed source told Trend that Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are actively exploring the possibility of establishing a regional financial center.
He stated that the center will include the banking and financial institutions of the two states, and this initiative is aimed at deepening the integration of financial markets and attracting investments in key projects of both countries.
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