OREANDA-NEWS. August 03, 2012. Eurasian Development Bank's (EDB) current investment portfolio has increased from the beginning of the year by more than 16% to USD3.28 billion by late June. The Bank's investment in its member states (from 2006) exceeded USD 3.91 billion, an increase of USD 491 million, reported the press-centre of KASE.

In 2012 eleven new projects were added to the Bank's investment portfolio. As of 30 June, it comprised 60 investment projects in five member states.

In June, EDB Ч as part of a banking syndicate signed a loan agreement with Magistral Severnoy Stolitsy, which is implementing a public-private partnership project to construct and operate the Western High-Speed Diameter road in St. Petersburg. The Bank invests RUR 10 billion in the project.

In May, EDB opened a USD 75 million loan facility for RAIL1520, a leasing company, for a project to develop the market in freight transportation.

The borrower is expected to purchase over 1,000 freight railcars from manufacturers to provide them in operating lease to cargo generating and transportation companies.
 
In June, EDB opened a KZT 3.17 billion loan facility for Kazakhstan's Batys Transit to finance the connection of a new large consumer to the Northern Kazakhstan-Aktobe Region interregional electric power transmission line. The project envisages the construction of two transmission lines to the Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant where a new high-carbon ferrochrome shop is being built.

The power sector and power infrastructure and the transport sector and transport infrastructure continue to account for the largest portions of  the Bank's current investment portfolio, with shares of 21.24% and 33.92% respectively. They are followed by chemistry (8.27%), agriculture (6.88%), processing industries (5.15%), metallurgy (4.56%), mining (1.5%), and municipal infrastructure (1.34%).

From the beginning of the year, EDB has provided a number of loans in the framework of its targeted programmes for financial institutions from the Bank's member states, including Russia's Center-Invest (for the financing of small and medium-sized businesses and energy saving projects), Rosevrobank (for trade finance) and NBD-Bank (for the financing of small and medium-sized businesses), and Armenia's Areximbank-Gazprombank Group (for the financing of small and medium-sized businesses) and Araratbank (for the financing of a microcredit programme).

The share of the financial sector (including the Bank's investment in the direct investment fund) in EDB's current investment portfolio stands at slightly over 17%.