On 20 January, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reported a record investment of €167 million for projects in energy, banking and transport and through trade finance support in Armenia, despite the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, reported arka.am.

The EBRD stepped up its investment to address immediate needs and to create the foundations for recovery, with a focus on building back better economies in the future. The Bank continued to concentrate its support on the private sector, which accounted for more than 90 per cent of total EBRD investment in Armenia in 2020. In a pioneering project, the EBRD financed the first utility-scale 55 MW solar power plant in Armenia and in the Caucasus. The project helped boost Armenia’s supply of clean energy and reduce its reliance on imported fuels.

Keeping vital trade flows going, the EBRD supported a new record of close to €70 million in trade finance transactions in Armenia, involving eight local partner banks, under its Trade Facilitation Programme. The EBRD further increased its support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the provision of loans to commercial banks for on-lending to businesses. These loans included Women in Business credit lines.

In the infrastructure sector, the Bank funded the reconstruction and modernisation of the border-crossing point near the town of Meghri to meet modern safety and security requirements. The project received significant grant support from the European Union. In addition, the EBRD supported Electric Networks of Armenia, which continues to modernise its electricity distribution network. The Bank also provided business advice to local SMEs by implementing 80 advisory and consultancy projects (with the help of 70 local consultants), three international advisory activities and 10 market-development activities and training sessions. It was emphasised by the EBRD office in Yerevan that the main goal for Armenia in 2021 would be to boost economic recovery.

In its general assessment of the year 2020, the EBRD responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with a record investment of €11 billion in 2020 through 411 projects, addressing the urgent needs of the 38 economies where it invests. This represents a 10 per cent increase in annual business investment relative to 2019, when the Bank provided €10.1 billion to finance 452 projects. The EBRD was the first international financial institution to adopt emergency measures to address the economic impact of the pandemic in March last year. It focused on supporting existing clients with the provision of short-term liquidity and working capital to protect viable companies and safeguard progress towards sustainable, fair and open market economies in its countries of operations.

Keeping vital trade flows going, the EBRD supported a new record of 2,090 trade finance transactions worth €3.3 billion under its Trade Facilitation Programme, involving 90 issuing and 140 confirming banks across 40 countries worldwide. Examples of transactions included the import of medicines from Spain, Turkey and Switzerland into Lebanon, Georgia and Jordan, or the export of solar power technologies from Greece to Spain and the United Kingdom. In the Caucasus, the Bank financed over US$ 400 million worth of investments in the energy sector.