ITFC approves US$10 Million line of trade finance for Uzbekistan’s Agrobank

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has approved a Murabaha Financing Facility of US$10 million for the Uzbekistan Joint Stock commercial bank “Agrobank” to support private sector development through the provision of financing for local SMEs in the country.

The financing, implemented under a US$500 million Framework Agreement signed between the Republic of Uzbekistan and ITFC in January 2019, will support import and pre-export financing needs of  SMEs in Uzbekistan and contribute to the nation’s recovery from the negative economic impact of COVID-19.

This financing is in line with the ‘recovery’ initiative of IsDB Group ‘3Rs’ Program aimed at supporting member countries to mitigate against the overall impact of the pandemic.

The CEO of ITFC, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, spoke of the contribution that the financing will make, saying, “The trade finance agreement between ITFC and Agrobank will support the provision of financing to local SMEs across the country as Uzbekistan’s private sector recovers from the adverse economic impact of COVID-19. The funds, which are allocated under Murabaha structure, will provide needed lifeline to importers and exporters during a time of global economic crisis and help protect the lives and livelihoods of people dependent on the country’s job creating SMEs.”

It is worth-mentioning that ITFC has previously approved six other lines of finance totaling US$46 million in favor of local banks in Uzbekistan since 2018.