EBRD acquire a 33.3% equity stake in UniLeasing

The EBRD financing will be complemented by ?250,000 in technical assistance from the Early Transition Countries Fund to enable the implementation of an enhanced management information system, the improvement of policies and procedures and the adoption of best practices of corporate planning and management.

Khalid Asgarov, Chairman of the Executive Board of UniLeasing and Aygen Yayikoglu, Head of the EBRD Resident Office in Baku signed the agreement.
Mr. Asgarov said the EBRD's acquisition of 33.3% of the shares is a solid expression of trust in the company.

"We are sure this will help us with our institutional development and will provide us with access to additional financial resources," he added.

Yayikoglu added that the Bank's investment will in particular encourage support for leasing products for private entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises, in line with our overall strategy to help develop the non-oil sectors of Azerbaijan.

EBRD's total investments in 2006 rose to ?4.9 billion from ?4.3 billion a year earlier and there were a record 301 projects, compared with 276 in 2005.

The number of equity investment projects rose to 64, from 61 in 2005, while in volume terms equity investments rose by 76 per cent to ?1.0 billion, up from ?572 million in 2005.

UniLeasing was et up in 2004 as a fully-owned subsidiary of UniBank one of the leading private commercial banks in Azerbaijan in which the EBRD is also a shareholder. UniLeasing has built a sizeable portfolio of assets and today holds a market share of approximately 17 percent. APA-Economics