BSTDB Extends a USD 20 Million Loan to a major Russian Steel Producer
Press Release | 01-Oct-2003
The Black Sea Trade & Development Bank (BSTDB) will make available 20 million US dollars to Severstal, the second largest steel producer in the Russian Federation, for its expansion plans. The project involves the purchase of equipment manufactured by two Ukrainian manufacturers (Novokramatorsk machine-building plant and Dneprotehservice) for the modernisation of the production facilities of Severstal in the Russian Federation. The maturity of the loan is up to 7 years.
The BSTDB's corporate loan will be directed at further improving the quality of Severstal's specialized steel products and covers the modernization and the technical upgrading of the production facilities of Severstal.
"We consider this as a first step toward the long-lasting and mutually beneficial cooperation of our two organizations" - said Alexander Andrianov, CFO of Severstal. "We are very happy to begin cooperation with Severstal, one of Russia's model companies, with an excellent regional and international reputation" said Mustafa Gürtin, President of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, signing the project.
Situated at Cherepovets in Russia's north-western Vologda region, Severstal is one of the leading Russian steel producers. Its capacity is more than 10 million tons per annum and it ranks number 17 worldwide by steel output. In the results of 2002, Severstal is the largest company in terms of revenues among the Russian ferrous metal producers and the second largest in terms of volume of steel and rolled products. Severstal enjoys a well-diversified customer base in the domestic and international markets.
Including the Severstal project, BSTDB's approved investments in Russia total more than US$ 140 million. Over 85 per cent of the Bank's portfolio is directed towards the private sector, including port infrastructure, financial services, SME development and major manufacturing enterprises.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters is in Thessaloniki, Greece. With an authorized capital of SDR 1 billion (approx. USD 1,4 billion), the Bank supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing financing, guarantees, and equity for projects supporting both public and private enterprises in its Member Countries. Since the commencement of operations in 1999, BSTDB's Board of Directors has approved projects and trade finance operations totaling over 500 million US dollars.