Bulgaria’s FIBank, China's Ex-Im Bank To Develop Joint Projects

FIBank will act as a representative of EXIM bank in Bulgaria and the Chinese bank will represent FIBank in China. The agreement is the first of its kind between Bulgarian and Chinese lenders, FIBank said in a statement.

EXIM Bank is one of the three “policy” banks - along with Agricultural Development Bank and China Development Bank, established by the Chinese government in 1994 to take over the government-directed spending functions of the state-owned commercial banks. These banks are responsible for financing economic and trade state-invested projects. EXIM bank is specialised in trade financing.

EXIM Bank’s end-2008 total assets reached 566.7 billion Chinese yuans ($83 billion/55.9 billion euro), its annual report published on its website showed.

As of 30 September FIBank was the sixth largest bank in Bulgaria with total assets of 4.02 billion levs ($3.05 billion/2.05 billion euro), down 5.6% from 4.26 billion at the end of 2008, central bank data showed.

FIBank (www.fibank.bg) has subsidiary banks in Macedonia and Albania.

FIBank traded in a volume of 6,566 shares, closing flat at 2.73 levs on the Sofia bourse on Friday.
 
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)