The Kazakhstan Bank Comes to Georgia


22 March 2005
Tbilisi
 
    A Conference was held on 22 March 2005 in Tbilisi on the occasion of signing memorandum on the strategic partnership in banking sector of Georgia. The memorandum was signed by the Georgian group of Silk Road companies (SRG) and Kazakh “BankTuranAlem” (BTA). It was agreed that a strategic partnership will be carried out through a joint participation in the authorized capital of the Silk Road Bank, which will be renamed as BTA Silk Road Bank, with BTA owning 49% and SRG - 51%.

   The parties agreed that the main goal of the strategic partnership is to develop universal and politically independent financial institution, which will meet all present world standards of commercial banking. The following people addressed the conference:

Mr. Saduakas Khaliksovetuli Mameshtegi, Chairman of the board of BTA
Mr. Erik Ahmedhamobich Sultankulov, Board member of BTA
Mr. Erkin Nurendaemuli Tatishev, First deputy Chairman of the board of BTA
Mr. George Ramishvili, Chairman of the board of SRG
Mr. David Shengelia, Board member of SRG

Within the framework of the visit BTA and SRG officials met with the president of Georgia Michael Saakashvili, the State Minister Kaha Bendukidze and the leading Georgian businessmen. Memorandum on co-operation was signed with Tbilisi Mayor. Notably the meeting with president Saakashvili was held in the eve of his official visit to Astana.


Priority directions of the bank activities are as follows:

• Medium-term financing, directed to the renewal of the main assets and development of new production in the country
• Business financing for exporters and importers aiming at expanding of volumes and increasing quality of external trade activities of the private sector of the country
• Mortgage lending provided to population and to the small-scale business entities, aiming at medium- and long-term financing of purchasing real property in the country
• Financing small- and medium-scale business for development of this particular segment, important for the country from strategic perspective

The Bank is willing to contribute to developing the financial sector of the country, introduce innovative banking products, develop partnership relations with local authorities in order to be engaged in municipality programs; promote Georgian companies and Georgia in general to the world investment community, contributing thus to attracting the foreign investments to the country. It aims at improving the welfare of the country via introducing retail financial services, developed and approved in the BTA system.

Upon working effectively on the development of the transport corridors of CIS in the framework of TRASECA in Kazakhstan since 2001, SRG has acknowledged the reality of perspectives of development of the own business in Georgia, and hence, has initiated the number of comparatively large-scale projects since 2004. Having been one of the old key clients of BTA, SRG, first of all, has invited Kazakh partners for engaging in development of the Silk Road Bank. Secondly, SRG considers setting up cooperation with the French BNP-Paribas. And, finally, one of the recent projects – reconstruction of the Iveria hotel to the five-star one is utmost important not only for the capital Tbilisi, but for whole Georgia.

Thus, the history of this partnership is a symbol of continuing the traditions of the Ancient Silk Road and the Georgian-Kazakh friendship, which takes its origins back to the pre-Mongol epoch.

This signed agreement contributed greatly to the reinforcement of the long-term economic and cultural links between Georgia and Kazakhstan.

It’s worth mentioning as well that a number of purchasing operations of the authorized capitals of the local banks of Georgia have already been made by foreign banks; Russian state Vneshtorgbank made such transaction with the United Georgian Bank recently, in January 2005.

 

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