OREANDA-NEWS. February 28, 2013. VTB Bank and GAZ Group have signed agreements on five credit lines with a total limit of RUB 6 billion for a period of up to five years. GAZ Group will use the funds to finance its priority investment projects to create new products and to upgrade its production facilities.

The funds to be provided by VTB will enable GAZ Group to implement projects in all areas of its business operations, namely to manufacture light commercial vehicles, to create a new line of buses, to develop commercial vehicles with gas engines, to modernise heavy-duty trucks, to implement industrial partnership projects with international auto makers and to modernise auto components facilities.

First Deputy President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board Yuri Soloviev said: "GAZ Group is one of VTB Bank’s key partners and a major player in the Russian automotive industry. The funding provided by the bank will enable GAZ Group’s plants to bolster the implementation of their projects to introduce modern technology and to upgrade their production facilities in order to manufacture modern competitive vehicles".

GAZ Group President and CEO Bo Andersson said that the key priority for all GAZ enterprises is to renew their output in order to satisfy market requirements. He said they are investing in the development of modern products and also in the modernisation of production facilities. Cooperation with VTB Bank will secure additional funding for our investment projects, which are aimed at creating the foundation for the company’s long-term competitiveness, the GAZ Group chief executive said.

For reference:
GAZ Group (www.gazgroup.ru) is a large automotive holding that manufactures light and medium commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, buses, cars, power units and auto components. It is the leader in the Russian market of commercial vehicles, with around 50% of light commercial vehicles produced in 2011, 58% of the medium trucks, 42% of heavy 4WD trucks and around 65% of buses. The group’s 2011 revenues amounted to RUB 132.4 billion, EBITDA was RUB 14 billion and net profit was RUB 8.5 billion. Its largest shareholder is the Russian Machines holding company of the Basic Element group. GAZ Group has its headquarters in Nizhny Novgorod. Its press service contacts are NataliaVA@ruspromauto.ru, MariaVK@ruspromauto.ru.

VTB Bank together with its subsidiary banks (VTB Group) is a leading Russian financial group that provides a wide range of banking services in Russia, the CIS, Western Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. It has a network of outlets in Russia, the CIS and Europe.

The Group conducts its business in Russia through VTB Bank and five subsidiary banks, the largest of which are VTB24, Bank of Moscow and TransCreditBank.

Outside Russia, the Group operates through 15 subsidiary banks located in the CIS (one bank in Armenia, two banks each in Ukraine and Belarus, and one bank each in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan), in Europe (Austria, Cyprus, Germany, France, the UK and Serbia), in Georgia and in Africa (Angola), as well as through two representative offices in Italy and China and five VTB Capital branches in Singapore, Dubai, Sofia, Hong Kong and New York.

As of 30 September 2012, VTB Group was the second largest financial group in Russia by assets (RUB 7.1847 trillion) and deposits (RUB 3.5218 trillion). Its largest shareholder is the Russian Government, which owns 75.5% of its shareholder capital through the Federal Agency for State Property Management.