OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2014. During the XVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sberbank of Russia and AzMeCo (Azerbaijan Methanol Company) signed a memorandum of cooperation that establishes priority areas of cooperation and the procedure for interaction between the parties.

 The document was signed by Sergey Gorkov, Deputy Chairman of the Board and Supervisor of Sberbank’s International Block and Nizami Piriev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AzMeCo.

Cooperation between AzMeCo and Sberbank envisages the possibility of Sberbank of Russia financing a number of projects to a total of USD1.5 bln, including the USD 450 mln refinancing of Karadagh Methanol Plant in Baku, long-term project financing for commercial retail space in Moscow, long-term project financing for the construction of a methanol plant in south-west Russia and project financing for a number of deals involving medium and large business in Crimea.

AzMeCo is an international company headquartered in Azerbaijan and has a presence in Russia, the Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Turkey. The company is the owner of Azerbaijan’s only methanol plant certified under all international standards. AzMeCo has invested approximately \\$500 mln in the construction of the plant. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) supplies AzMeCo with gas.

The document was signed for a period of five years and can be prolonged. It establishes pre-contractual relations. Specific projects will be regulated by separate agreements. However, the memorandum does not prevent AzMeCo from cooperating with other banks.

Sergey Gorkov, Deputy Chairman of the Board and Supervisor of Sberbank’s International Block, commented: “Azerbaijan is a major foreign investor in the Turkish economy and because of this the Azerbaijani market is an area of interest for the Sberbank Group. For us this partnership with AzMeCo is the first example of cooperation with a private company in Azerbaijan and the possibility to significantly expand our client base in the region.”