January 26 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday that it invested a record 525 million euro ($570.4 million) in Moldova last year, marking a five-fold increase on its 2021 investments totalling 106 million euro.
Investments supported energy security, the upgrade of key infrastructure and small and medium-sized enterprises during a turbulent year caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine, the EBRD said in a press release.
“We have not only invested a record volume that provided a lifeline to the Moldovan economy, but also disbursed funds at a record rate, ensuring that our money went to the real economy and benefited regular Moldovans, who have been so significantly impacted by the war on Ukraine,” EBRD head of Moldova, Angela Sax, said.
Energy security was the largest sector to benefit from investments, as the EBRD disbursed 300 million euro to diversify Moldova’s gas supplies away from Russian sources and facilitate supplies from European hubs. The bank also lent 100 million euro to finance the rehabilitation of roads near Moldova’s border with Ukraine, supporting regional integration and trade flows with Moldova’s traditional markets and the EU.
Investments in financial institutions more than doubled to 80 million euro in 2022, as EBRD extended credit lines to three banks for on-lending to SMEs. Moldova Agroindbank was the recipient of a 35 million euro loan that would aid companies affected by the war on Ukraine.
($=0.9204 euro)