Azmeco and Sberbank sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Azmeco’s expansion plans secured with additional $1.5bn facility
AzMeCo and Sberbank have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation at the XVIII
St Petersburg International Economic Forum, which sets out the priorities and
cooperation framework between the two companies.
According to the agreement, Sberbank will finance Azmeco’s projects to
the value of $1.5bn. This includes the refinancing of the Karadagh methanol
plant near Baku at a value of $450m, long term project financing of commercial
retail space in Moscow, long term project financing of methanol plant
construction in Russia.
The Memorandum of Cooperation has a five year term, with the possibility
to extend. Specific projects will be subject to separate agreements. This
memorandum does not limit Azmeco in its cooperation with other banks.
Nizami Piriev, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of AzMeCo, signed
the document on behalf of the company. Sberbank’s signatory was Sergey Gorkov,
Deputy Chairman of the Board.
Nasib Piriev, the Azmeco Group CEO said: "This deal is the first of its kind: a
large project finance transaction of a private company from Azerbaijan with
Sberbank, and I am very proud of this great achievement. We have been working
on the preparation of this deal for the last 6 months and I am happy that it is
now concluded. I want to thank both the Sberbank and AzMeCo teams for their
efficient and hard work to make this deal a reality. We also hope that this
precedent will open up new ways of cooperation for other private companies from
Azerbaijan and large international banks."
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank, Sergey Gorkov, commented:
"Azerbaijan is the biggest foreign investor in the Turkish economy, which is
why the Azerbaijani market is so relevant to Sberbank Group. For us,
partnership with AzMeCo is the first example of cooperation with a private
company from Azerbaijan and marks the possibility of significantly expanding
our client base in the region.”
AzMeCo is part of the PNN Group of companies, which consists of oil, gas
and petrochemical assets, as well as retail businesses in Azerbaijan, Russia,
Ukraine, the Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Turkey. AzMeCo owns the
only methanol plant in Azerbaijan which meets all existing international
standards; the company has invested around $500 m in the construction of the
plant. Gas is provided to AzMeCo by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan
Republic.