GAZPROMBANK ACQUIRED 80% OF AREXIMBANK’S SHARES
arminfo
2007-12-02 09:19:00
ArmInfo. Gazprombank has acquired 80% of Areximbank’s shares. As the
Gazprombank’s site notes, The Gazprombank OJSC has acquired 80,09%
of shares of Areximbank CJSC on 29, having got approval of Armenia’s
Central Bank.
According to the official message of Gazprombank, the decision
regarding the bank’s acquisition is conditioned by the growing goods
turnover between Armenia and Russia, growth of the Russian companies’
investments to Armenia’s economy, the corporate clients’ needs
in a complex banking service, as well as the need in maintenance
and financing of the "Gazprom" OJSC’s projects in the territory
of Armenia. After acquisition of 80,09% of Areximbank’s shares, the
settlement and cash operations, crediting, trade and project financing
for big corporate clients will become its main activity directions. Big
companies from Armenia and the Russian enterprises affiliated companies
are the Areximbank’s potential clients. In addition, the Areximbank
will keep on serving the natural persons. As the first vice President
of Gazprombank Olga Kazanskaya said, the analysis performed shows
that in a middle-term prospect, the Areximbank will become one of
the leaders of Armenia’s banking system in the area of financing of
strategically important branches of the country’s economy.
To note, according to the data of the GlobalRating (GRG) Rating Agency,
the Gazprombank is one of the biggest Russian banks, an authorized bank
of the Gazprom OJSC on the key directions of the banking service. The
Gazprom OJSC is the bank’s main shareholder and is enabled to fully
control its activity.
The bank operates in a regime of strategic partnership with its
shareholder.
At the same time it rather successfully develops its activity in the
corporate, retail and investment business. The specialists think that
the Gazprombank will become a direct competitor of the VTB-Armenia
Bank which is lately activating the work in financing of strategically
important branches of Armenia’s economy, with presence of the Russian
capital, including the energy sector. As the analysts of AmRating,
an affiliated structure of GRG, think, the Gazprombank’s attention
to Armenia is concerned with availability of the Gazprom’s energy
investment programmes in Armenia to the total sum of about $2 bln,
which should be operated in the country by a financial structure,
authorized by the Gazprom and dependent on its politically motivated
decisions.
The Bank belonged to the structures of the Russian businessman
Boris Ivanishvili, the owner of the "Unicor" Holding and the Moscow
IMPEXBANK, which is completing the transaction on merging with the
Reiffesbank. 52,08% shares of the bank were kept by ‘Finmarket’ CJSC,
28,.01% – by ‘Roscredresources’ Ltd and 19,91% directly belonged to
IMPEXBANK. As the analysts think, the Gazprombank will most likely
buy the remaining block of stock from IMPEXBANK in the near future.
The analysts say that the Austrian bank seriously considered the
Areximbank’s purchase in early, 2007, within the frames of the
transaction with IMPEXBANK, however, it further refused of it. Now,
the Areximbank takes the top positions in the Armenian banking retail,
especially, in the area of autocrediting.
According to the Ranking of Armenia’s commercial banks, prepared by the
Agency of Rating Marketing Information (ArmInfo), the total capital of
Areximbank as of October 1, 2007, made up 3.4 bln drams ($10.1 mln),
the total assets – 10.1 bln drams ($30.1 mln), the retained profits,
as of the end of 3Q, made up 223.0 mln drams ($664.2 thsd).