European bank signs MoU for India investments

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) today signed an MoU with one of India's top business chambers ASSOCHAM to facilitate co-financing opportunities.
The aim of the agreement is to strengthen ties between EBRD and Indian corporations in the regions where the bank is active.
"We already work with some very high quality Indian companies in our countries of operations. By deepening our cooperation with ASSOCHAM we will be able to reach out to many more Indian partners as we invest to support countries that are still making the transition to market economies," said EBRD's first vice-President Phil Bennett.

"The EBRD has already had a number of successful investments in cooperation with Indian companies, but there was scope to do much more," Bennett said at bank's London headquarters with Sunil Kanoria, president-elect of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
EBRD has so far invested a total of over USD 960 million together with Indian firms.
It has teamed up with the Tata group in the Shuakhevi hydropower plant in Georgia, which is helping the country make the most of its abundant water resources and achieve greater energy independence.

EBRD has also worked in Georgia with the JSW steel group, with whom it invested in a steel mill in the town of Rustavi and in Russia, where it teamed up with Tata Beverages.

In addition, the bank has a strong relationship with Kolkata-headqaurtered SREI Leasing and has cooperated with the company on its Moscow operations.
The EBRD was established in 1991 to support the transition to market economies of countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
It has since extended its geographic reach and is also working to bolster the private sector in Turkey and in countries in North Africa and the Middle East as well as Cyprus and Greece.
ASSOCHAM was established in 1920 and now comprises over 400 chambers and trade associations and currently serves over 450,000 members across India.

The two organisations have already been working together over the last few years and the signing of the MOU is expected to strengthen this relationship further.