YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Ameriabank has completed negotiations with international financial organizations on the credit programs for construction of small hydropower plants and crediting of small and medium enterprises. The bank plans to launch these programs in the 4th quarter of this year, Ameriabank's Director for Corporate Customers Levon Arevshatian announced on October 13. He said that two international financial organizations will finance in two portions (15 million and 5 million dollars) a 20 million dollar program envisaged for the companies which submitted bids for credits on the construction of small hydropower or wind power plants or their strengthening under the program on renewable energy crediting. This measure will allow increasing the capacities of Armenia's small hydropower engineering by 15-20 megawatts through construction of 5-7 power plants. The current capacities amount to 80-100 megawatts. In case of investment by the building companies as well, these capacities will grow even more. The credits will be provided at annual interest rates of 11% and over, for a period of up to 8 years, with a 3 year grace period. The first credits will be given in November-December 2009, which will enable companies engaged in the energy sector to start construction in the spring of 2010. Ameriabank's representative expressed an opinion that these conditions are quite competitive in terms of hydropower plant construction, doing profitable work, and credit repayment. According to L. Arevshatian, within the framework of the indicated credit program, Ameriabank will cooperate with the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission and some structures providing technical and financial advice, and it will introduce an environmental risk management system. He assured those present that the bank has experience of crediting small hydropower plant construction with its own financial resources. In starting the new credit program, Ameriabank will ascertain whether the building contractor of the credit borrower has experience in small hydropower plant construction and it will also examine the existence of a design ensuring the hydropower plant's maxiumum efficiency and the conditions related to quality and the sources of purchasing equipment. As regards the SME crediting program, he said that it will open an opportunity to improve the crediting conditions of medium business - companies with up to 250 employees and an annual turnover of 15 million USD. "We have conducted long negotiations with international financial organizations with the aim of starting a program of crediting medium business on preferential conditions," the bank official said, adding that the program's total cost will be 20-40 million USD, with loans of up to 1.5 million USD to be provided. The crediting conditions are the same as those of the renewable energy crediting program. L. Arevshatian said that Ameriabank currently has a portfolio of 4-5 million USD for crediting small enterprises, with the share of corporate crediting amounting to 35 billion drams out of the overall crediting of 44 billion drams (about 114.3 million USD). The credit portfolio grew by 41% in the third quarter of 2009. Credits for medium enterprises make up 60-70% of the bank's corporate portfolio. In his words, the assets of Ameriabank made 93 billion drams at the end of the third quarter of 2009 as compared to 86 billion drams at the beginning of the same quarter.

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