EBRD providing $50 mln to Uzbekistan's Ipak Yuli Bank to support green lending and MSMEsThe European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is extending a financing facility of up to $50 million to Uzbekistan's Ipak Yuli Bank to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, improving access to green finance and stimulating green innovation, the EBRD said in a press release."The package consists of two complementary components designed to accelerate Uzbekistan's green transition and strengthen its MSME sector," it said.An EBRD loan of up to $15 million will be made available under the bank's Uzbekistan Green Economy Financing Facility II (GEFF II Uzbekistan). This will allow Ipak Yuli Bank to expand its energy-efficiency lending to companies and households The loan will be supported by concessional co-financing by provided by the High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action (HIPCA).. HIPCA donors include: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the TaiwanICDF (International Cooperation and Development Fund), the United Kingdom and the United States.The remaining $35 million will be used to support MSMEs in Uzbekistan, "helping to strengthen the backbone of the country's economy and create employment opportunities," the EBRD said.The Uzbek bank will receive funds in synthetic local currency, in which the borrower is issued a loan in hard currency, but all debt servicing payments are indexed to the local currency at the time of the loan agreement.The EBRD has invested more than $6.5 billion in Uzbekistan to date through 193 projects, with most of those funds supporting private entrepreneurship, contributing to the country's economic development.Ipak Yuli Bank has been operating since 1990. The Asian Development Bank has been a shareholder since 2013. The German development institute DEG and Triodos Investment Management in the middle of 2020 invested approximately $25 million in the share capital of KB Ipak Yuli by purchasing a minority stake (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: Interfax