ASTANA – The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) witnessed significant growth in investment in its projects in 2022, with the accumulated investment portfolio reaching $13.4 billion, while new projects account for $2.5 billion, said Nikolai Podguzov, the bank’s chairman, at a June 30 meeting of the EDB Council with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
Alikhan Smailov with Nikolai Podguzov. Photo credit: primeminister.kz
The number of projects reached a record 273, Podguzov informed.
Commending last year’s work, Prime Minister Smailov emphasized the need to focus on risk management and maintaining its credit rating when developing future projects.
He said the volume of investments increased by almost $1 billion compared to the previous year.
Annual meeting of the EDB Council with Alikhan Smailov. Photo credit: primeminister.kz
“With the growing investment portfolio, we should keep working on EDB’s sustainable development and, accordingly, financing projects in member countries,” he said.
Following a June 28 decision on authorized capital, Russia’s stake in the paid authorized capital was evenly redistributed among other member states. As a result, Kazakhstan’s stake rose from 33% to 37.3%, while Russia’s stake fell from 66% to 44.8%.
The EDB meeting also featured a report on negotiations with Uzbekistan on joining the bank, considering that augmenting the membership would reduce potential risks and explore opportunities to launch new integration projects.
With an authorized capital of $7 billion, EDB is an international financial institution engaged in investment activities in the Eurasian space. For more than 17 years, the EDB has promoted economic ties and comprehensive development of its member countries, including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia and Tajikistan.
