OREANDA-NEWS. On April 10, 2008 the EBRD has opened an office in Dnepropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine, a mark of its strong commitment to investing in the Ukrainian regions, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

Business Group Director for southern and eastern Europe Olivier Descamps and EBRD Ukraine Country Director Kamen Zahariev took part in the inauguration ceremony on April 7. Representatives of regional and city administrations of Dnepropetrovsk and east regions of Ukraine also participated in the opening ceremony.

The opening of the regional office reflects the substantial growth in numbers of projects signed by the EBRD in Ukraine in recent years. This regional representative office aims to increase the EBRD’s project financing, and will be an effective way of monitoring the implementation of projects in the eastern and southern areas of Ukraine.

As of April 2008, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development had channelled more than ?210 million into financing large-scale projects in the Dnepropetrovsk area. 30 SME projects worth over \\$20 million have been financed by the Bank in the region. More than 27,000 loans totalling \\$126 thousand have been provided under the EBRD microlending framework

Last year proved to be very successful for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development in Ukraine. As announced earlier this year, the EBRD invested around ?647 million (\\$1 billion dollars) in the country in 2007. The Bank signed a record number of new transactions (32 projects). Syndications also increased significantly – almost tripling from 2006 levels (from ?125m in 2006 to ?321m in 2007).

Finally, the EBRD approved and signed two programme documents, which will define its activity in Ukraine in coming years: Country Strategy for Ukraine (signed in October 2007) and Programme of cooperation between EBRD and Ukraine in public sector (signed in June 2007).

The Programme is expected to increase annual public sector investments by the EBRD in Ukraine to between 200 and 400 million euros between 2007 and 2009. It is a component of the new EBRD Country Strategy for Ukraine, which will concentrate on diversification of the production base and overall improvement of the country’s competitiveness, development of local capital markets, continuation of energy sector reform and strengthening corporate governance and transparency.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the biggest financial investor in Ukraine. As of January 2008 it had committed over ?3,2 billion through more than 161 projects.