Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A project and export financing seminar was held in Tashkent for companies managed by the SFI Management Group, with the participation of experts from Gazprombank, one of the leading financial institutions in the Russian Federation, and representatives of its subsidiary in Luxembourg - Bank GPB International SA.

For two days of work, international financial experts revealed the intricacies of project and export financing, and also talked about the features of commodity and trade financing and the nuances of transactions covered by export credit agencies.

Opening the seminar, Timur Belikov, Vice President and Deputy Head of the Department for Project and Structural Financing of Gazprombank, noted that he considers the market of Uzbekistan to be very promising.

“Our bank plans to play an active role in organizing financing of significant investment projects in the republic together with leading Uzbek and foreign banks, as well as export credit agencies. I am sure that the exchange of experience in the field of project and export financing in the mining and metallurgical sector between Gazprombank and colleagues from Uzbek banks and initiators of large investment projects in the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy will be very useful for all participants of the event,” he said.

The expert also added that the seminar creates a good basis for further development of cooperation, and also helps to form a common value system between borrowers and banks, on the basis of which the parties can not only arrange financing of projects in the form of club syndicates with the participation of Uzbek and foreign banks, but also get through together with the client, a difficult path from formulating a project idea to the stage of a working profitable production.

"The liberalization of the foreign exchange market has served as a powerful impetus for increasing the interest of investors and foreign financial institutions in our country. Now, Uzbekistan is implementing many investment projects that require various financing mechanisms. In addition, the presence of Uzbek metallurgical companies in international commodity markets requires the use of new for us in the field of trade financing of types of instruments, such as spot transactions, hedging of risks and others. That is why the training , which provides basic information on such operations with consideration of practical examples, are very useful," Nargiza Yusupova, project manager for SFI Management Group, said.

Co-Head of the Structured Commodity Financing Department of Bank GPB International S.A. Rustam Makloufi emphasized that Uzbekistan is currently experiencing a very interesting and dynamic time, which requires new approaches to the implementation of investment projects, as well as mechanisms to stimulate them.

"A number of effective tools are used in international practice in financing projects, and now Uzbekistan has a great opportunity to choose the most suitable option for the country. That is why a large expert group has gathered here in Tashkent. Gazprombank has extensive experience in this area, we have been working for many years We carry out such projects around the world, so we can help find the best solutions for new projects in Uzbekistan," he said.

Specialists of the largest metallurgical plants of Uzbekistan participating in the event noted that the seminar allowed them to increase knowledge in structuring transactions, forming the right approach when signing contracts and negotiating contracts and payment terms. Indeed, when using project financing, it is important to clearly understand the payback and timing of the implementation of any project, and this directly depends on the structured work of all relevant departments and cooperation with banks and expert credit agencies.

According to the head of the department of the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AGMK) Kamolitdin Salimov, the seminar was extremely important for the employees of the enterprise, which today is actively present on the global market for the sale of metals.

“AGMK is currently implementing several large investment projects worth more than US$3.5 billion, so it is very important for us to study modern methods and mechanisms for financing investment projects to promote them in foreign banks and minimize all kinds of risks. In this case, cooperation with credit and financial organizations as one of the elements of protecting the enterprise from various adverse situations, because not only the future of our enterprise depends on the successful implementation of the project, but the bank, which should return its investment loan and make a profit", - he said.

It should be noted that the seminar was not limited only to theoretical lectures by international experts. It quickly moved to the practical side: experts conducted a number of trainings, and also discussed the specific tasks of Uzbek companies.

Another important point - in addition to specialized specialists from metallurgical companies, representatives of Uzbek banks attended the seminar.

“Such seminars are interesting not only for representatives of enterprises, but also for domestic banks. They allow us to understand in practice how certain financial mechanisms work in the global market and how they can be applied in our country. The National Bank of Uzbekistan has long been working with by the Russian side, including in the field of project financing. Together with Gazprombank we were able to successfully implement two projects - the construction of a refrigeration complex in Samarkand region, as well as a textile factory. that the number of such initiatives will only grow in the future," the representative of the NBU Akmal Makhtumov said.