OREANDA-NEWS. February 11, 2008. In 2007 Ipoteka Bank held a number of meetings with the representatives of international financial institutions, including the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Development Bank, International Financial Corporation, China Export and Import Bank, Commerzbank, Hipo Fereins Bank, Landesbank Berlin, and other investment banks.

The parties discussed primarily the opportunities for cooperation, the opening of direct credit lines for the refinance of large industrial enterprises, and small business entities to help them set up and develop the production of goods and services, the bank's press service said.

The Bank signed an agreement with the Export Import Bank of China on the extension of a credit line for the installation of water metering devices for the total amount of US$17,3 million. On 3 July 2007 it signed a global agreement with the Islamic Development Bank on the extension of the line of finance for small businesses of Uzbekistan for the total amount of US$ 3 million.

In the reporting year the bank financed the projects on the production of paint and varnish products and processing of cotton fibre for the total of US$3.1 million. The bank is financing the project of the UzImpexAloka CJSC on modernization of the communication networks worth US$1.8 million using the funds from the credit line of the Landesbank Berlin. Also, on the project with the Export Import Bank of China out of the total of US$17,3 million some US$7,9 million were used and invested in 2007.

From the credit line of the EBRD the bank has appropriated some US$2 million for the Japanese-Uzbek Full-scale Programme on the Support of Small Business. The bank continues to extend funds for this project from its own resources. In total, Ipoteka Bank has arranged credit lines with three German Banks – Hipo Fereins Bank, Landesbank Berlin and Commerzbank.

One of the important areas of the bank's activity in 2008 is the attraction and utilization of the credit lines of foreign banks for new investment projects. To date using the credit line of the IDB the Ipak Yuli Bank has funded two projects.