Brussels, 16/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's financing institution, is to lend €230 million for climate action and private sector development in Turkey, the Bank announced in a press release published on Tuesday 15 May. The funds will be allocated as follows:
€75 million will go to Turkiye Ihracat Kredi Bankasi A.S. (Eximbank) for export oriented and foreign currency earning small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Eximbank is fully state-owned and acts as the official export credit agency of Turkey. Its mandate is to support foreign trade, Turkish contractors and investors operating overseas through various credit guarantee, funding and insurance programmes. The EIB facility, in the form of a line of credit to Eximbank for on-lending to SMEs, conforms fully with the EU and Turkish policies for regional development and SME support. It will complement Eximbank's other funding sources and will enable it to provide much needed long-term funds to SMEs and contribute to Turkey's efforts to tackle the country's current account deficit.
€80 million is for the expansion of the glass production capacity of Trakya Glass Bulgaria EAD (TGB). TGB is the Bulgarian subsidiary of the Turkish glass company Turkiye Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari A.S. (Sicecam). The EIB has already provided support to Sisecam through two previous facilities, worth a total of €115 million, in 2005 and 2007 for the company's capacity expansion and R&D programmes in Turkey.
€75 million will go to Turkiye Kalkinma Bankasi A.S. (TKB), Turkey's state-owned development bank. The new operation targets renewable energy and energy efficiency investments. (LC/transl.rt)