devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
Locko A+B Loan The project company is Locko Bank (Locko or the Bank), a medium-sized Russian commercial bank, strategically focused on lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Having originally operated in Moscow and Moscow region, Locko is currently expanding into the regions of Russia. The Bank is a dynamically developing institution with strong asset growth and good market position.  The proposed project is a syndicated loan which will be used:  - to support the Bank''s lending program to SMEs;  - for trade finance activities;  - as well as to support overall liquidity needs. The development impact of the project is expected to be significant in terms of its support for local businesses in the real economy, especially private companies which have outgrown the size of micro- or small-sized business.  By providing financing to Locko Bank, IFC will enable the Bank to expand its lending operations and provide commercial financing to SMEs, thereby fostering economic growth and employment generation.
URSA Synd. Loan URSA Bank (URSA Bank or the Bank) was formed in December 2006 as a result of the merger of two regional banks: Sibacadembank, headquartered in Novosibirsk, and Uralvneshtorgbank, headquartered in Yekaterinburg.  Now it is one of the largest regional banks in Russia.  Its total assets as of June 30, 2007 were $5.5 billion and total equity $1 billion.   The Bank is a universal bank, offering a wide range of services to its retail and corporate clients.  Although its original strategy was to focus on SMEs, since 2004 the Bank has actively developed retail lending and more recently it also expanded residential mortgage lending.    The Bank is rated by international rating agencies, with Fitch rating of B (Positive) and Moodys rating of Baa3 (Stable).  Standard & Poors put the Bank on the 4th place in its ranking of the most transparent banks in Russia in 2007 (among 30 largest banks included by S&P in its Transparency and Disclosure Survey of Russian Banks 2007). The extensive regional branch network, and presence of SME and mortgage finance among the Banks priority business lines make the Bank an important strategic partner of IFC.  By providing support to URSA Bank, IFC continues supporting its strategic development objectives in Russia  in particular, increasing access to finance for SMEs, and bringing innovative and sustainable banking products and high-quality banking services into the regions of Russia.    The project will help the Bank to introduce new products and services with high development impact such as energy efficiency (EE) finance.  The Banks extensive branch network in Siberia and the Urals and its SME client base make it a very good candidate for energy efficiency lending.  The Financial Markets EE strategy in Central and Eastern Europe includes leveraging IFCs existing financial institutions client base and integrating EE into SME, housing and consumer finance offerings; developing innovative financial structures and new products; and building a robust advisory services program to support capacity building at client level.  By working closely with URSA Bank in this project, IFC would play a critical catalytic role in mobilizing the EE-focused funding for the SME sector in Russian regions via a demonstration effect, which is in line with its Financial Markets and EE strategies.  Encouraging URSA Bank to develop EE-focused lending business will therefore further enhance the development impact of the project.    In addition to provision of financing IFC plans, as a related, but separate project, to provide advisory services to URSA Bank and its clients on technical, financial and legal aspects of EE finance, as well as to provide EE-relevant training to URSA Banks loan officers, assistance in EE product development, and assistance in EE projects pipeline development.  Support provided to URSA Bank, the largest regional Russian bank operating in the Urals, Siberia and the Russian Far Eas, will have a significant positive impact on the Russian regional banking system in general.
Quadriga Capital Russia Fund The funds objective is to create value for investors by identifying, investing in and supporting medium-sized private companies located primarily in the St Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod regions.  

Developmental Impact
It is expected that the fund will generally provide capital to established and profitable companies in order to expand capacity and develop as a potential market leader.  Aside from providing scarce equity capital, QCR will add value to the investees by helping the companies to professionalize their corporate structures, implement appropriate management and financial accounting systems, and also create strategic linkages with Western European and other Russian companies.

IFC Role:
IFC has three important roles to play in the fund:

As an anchor investor, IFC will play a catalytic role in attracting other investors to the fund.  Institutional investors are typically wary of investments outside the Moscow area, particularly for smaller and medium sized local companies.  QCR believes that IFCs participation as an anchor investor and as a member of the Advisory Board and observer on the Investment Committee would be crucial in order to encourage commercial investors to broaden their investment horizons into Russia's regions.

IFCs involvement in reviewing transaction opportunities from an early stage will be crucial in assessing the availability of loan finance for potential investees.  In this capacity, IFC will play a key role in mobilizing longer-term loan finance for mid-sector Russian companies, which is scarce in Russia, particularly for companies outside the Moscow region.

IFCs work on corporate governance issues in Russia has provided the corporation with specific insights into some of the more widespread governance problems in Russia.  As improving the governance standards of investee companies will be one of the Funds objectives, the fund manager will be able to draw on IFCs expertise through interaction with IFC on the Advisory Board and at the Investment Committee.
Credit Europe RU CJSC Credit Europe Bank Ltd (CEB) is a mid-size Moscow-based bank which operates in Russia since 1997. Initially set up as a corporate bank, CEB has gradually expanded its activities to consumer finance, retail and SME banking. As of today, CEB ranks among Russias top 50 banks with assets over $3 billion and equity in excess of $500 million. The Bank operates in 23 regions via 110 branches, 276 ATMs and 4500 point of sales, servicing about to 2.5 million retail customers, 10,000 SMEs and  900 corporate clients throughout Russia.   The Project is aimed at supporting CEBs regional expansion plans and its lending activities to SMEs and consumer retail. In addition, IFCs participation in the Project will help CEB secure long-term and diversified funding, thereby enhancing IFCs role as a reliable partner in challenging times. The Project is expected to have a demonstration impact as well as a developmental impact. The demonstration impact will be achieved by assisting a viable financial institution in accessing the syndication market and international investors in a challenging environment. IFCs support will contribute to bring additional stability and diversification to CEBs funding. On the developmental front, the Project will indirectly support the Russian SME sector, which suffers from a chronic shortage of funding options. This Project will also enable CEB to keep on growing its regional distribution channels and branch network, which in turn will generate new employment opportunities in regions where such opportunities are often limited.
IFC RBC Venture Note on Disclosure: pursuant to paragraph 9 (d) of IFC''s Policy on Disclosure of Information, the disclosure of certain information is being delayed because of timing requirements of sensitive information. Once these issues are resolved, a revised SPI will be published containing all standard SPI information.    IFC proposes to invest in a venture to facilitate Russian bank capitalization  (RBC Venture). The RBC Venture will make equity and equity-related investments in banks and contribute to sector consolidation and improved financial intermediation in the Russian market, particularly in the regions. The majority of investments are expected to be made in existing, privately-owned commercial banking institutions with significant shares of their respective markets. The RBC Venture is expected to deliver strong development impact via two key areas:   a) providing critically needed equity/equity-related funding to improve and stabilize the capital base of the second-tier of Russian banks, thereby speeding up recovery and job creation in the overall economy, specifically in the less financially accessible Russian regions as they emerge from the on-going crisis; and,  b) expected "demonstration effect" as the investment potential of second-tier and regional Russian banks is highlighted and thereby catalyzing further private-sector investments into an undervalued future growth area for the Russian economy.
Primsotsbank The project consists of a subordinated loan of up to US$4 million and, at a later stage, an equity investment in Primsotsbank (PSB or the Bank), a medium-sized regional bank operating in the Russian Far East.  IFC financing would support the Banks strategy and its further expansion.
Borsteklo II Summary Of Project Information (SPI)       Project Name    Russia:  Borsteklo              Region    Europe        Sector       Project No008083   Projected Board DateJuly 29, 1997   Company NameAOOT Borsky Stekolny Zavod   Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders    	The sponsor is a major international producer of flat glass for the automotive, construction and furniture markets, with manufacturing facilities in several countries.  Following completion of the share purchase and capital increase, the Company will be 75%-owned by a consortium consisting of the following:  Sponsor, 26.5%; IFC, 19.1%; EBRD, 19.1%; Alfa Capital, 7.9%; and management, 2.4%.  The sponsor intends to increase to a majority shareholding through the exercise of various put and call options with other shareholders.    Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment    	Project cost: $58.9 million.  Proposed IFC investment: $15.0 million in up to 19.1% of the companys common shares.    Location of project and Description of site    	The project will be located in the town of Bor, about 15 kilometers from Nizhni Novgorod.  The Company is located on a 73 hectare site on the bank of the Volga River.      Description of Company and Purpose of Project    	The project is aimed at the acquisition and partial modernization of AOOT Borsky Stekolny Zavod, one of Russias privatized manufacturers of flat glass for the automotive and construction markets.  A capital increase will be used to finance a limited two-year expenditure plan aimed at:  improvement of the furnaces, general production and environmental controls, and additional working capital.  The sponsor intends to undertake a full renovation consisting of two furnace cold repairs and expanded downstream processing capacity, estimated to cost up to $95 million and to be implemented over the next five years.    Environmental Category and Issues    	This is a category B project according to IFCs environmental review procedure.  Environmental, health and safety issues include air emissions, liquid effluent, solid waste and worker exposure to high temperatures, noise and dust.  An environmental assessment of the plant site and existing operations has been completed.  A Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to bring the plant into compliance with World Bank guidelines has been agreed with the project company and sponsor, and its implementation will be a condition of IFCs investment.      The  is  June 26, 1997 from the Public Information Center.       Date SPI sent to PIC     June 27, 1997      For Additional Information contact:  Corporate Relations Unit -   telephone: (202) 473-7711   facsimile: (202) 974-4384  Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).
CapMan Russia II Fund, L.P. The proposed project is to make an equity investment of up to Eur 15 million in CapMan Russia II Fund, L.P. (the Fund), a closed-end private equity fund, domiciled in Guernsey, to be established, which will make growth equity investments in small to mid-sized Russian enterprises. The Fund is a successor fund to CapMan Russia Fund, a 2008 vintage fund of EUR 118.1 million, where IFC is also an investor. The Funds target size is EUR 175 million, and it expects to make 12 to 14 investments in small and midmarket companies with growth potential and typically have low leverage. The average investment size will be approximately EUR 12 million for minority positions with strong governance rights. CapMan Russia II Fund is a generalist fund but will focus on the following sectors: consumer goods and services, healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture, IT & telecoms and construction. (i)	Support for SMEs: IFC's experience has shown that small to midcap companies can achieve higher job creation rates than large cap companies. IFC would support job creation in Russia since the Fund's growth strategy is in full alignment with IFC's development impact goals. (ii)	Access to long-term equity/risk capital is limited in Russia: SMEs are typically only able access short term bank loans in the absence of equity investors. IFC's investment would support the growth of Russian enterprises by providing scarce equity financing. (iii)	Private Sector Development: The Fund Manager employs a hands on, value added strategy with its portfolio companies. Through this knowledge sharing, the team helps with implementation of best practices in corporate governance, environmental and social monitoring system, all of which leads to improved competitiveness and sustainability. (iv)	The Fund will make investments primarily outside Moscow in cities and regions where SMEs often have limited access to financing. In the two predecessor funds to this Fund, 10 out the total 14 investee companies were located outside Moscow and St. Petersburg.
KMB Bank Project On initiative of the EBRD, KMB Bank started operations in 1992 as the Russian Project Finance Bank, focusing on project finance.  The bank was subsequently converted into an institution specializing in financing small businesses, and started operations with this new focus in late 1998. KMB makes loans to privately-owned micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and provides a range of other financial service.  Its lending activity has a regional focus, and future plans include expansion in the Urals, Siberia, and the European part of Russia.       Development impact     Given the focus of KMB''s business plan on regional expansion and the SME sector, by helping the bank maintain its rapid growth trend, IFC will be supporting the development of the key business sector in Russia, especially in areas that are away from the better-banked Moscow region.  The development impact of the project is expected to be threefold: (i) supporting expansion of the SME sector which in Russia is still underdeveloped compared with other countries in Central and Eastern Europe; (ii) regional development, as KMB will emphasize expansion outside the better-banked Moscow and St. Petersburg regions; and (iii) financial sector development, by contributing to the growth of banking services aimed at SMEs, and hopefully serving as a demonstration model to other banks that are considering moving into the sector.       IFCs Role     Currently, there are virtually no commercial sources of long-term funding for banks in Russia unless they belong to one of the big financial/industrial groups.  KMB''s access to funding from existing sources (primarily EBRD) has been exhausted and its deposit base is still small, short term, and it will take considerable time and effort to develop into a reliable source of funding.  At the same time, funding on the inter-bank market is very short-term and expensive. IFC financing will provide resources which are essential for KMB to expand its lending activities and to broaden the range of its services by making larger loans to serve its best SME customers, in addition to micro-enterprises and to increase profitability.  Finally, by taking a Board seat, IFC will be able to provide input into the bank''s operations and further development.
Delta Credit The project involves extending a secured line of credit to DC to provide housing finance to Russian retail clients.   Specifically, IFC would provide a 10 year, fixed rate loan to fund the origination of mortgage loans denominated in US dollars or in rubles, with payments linked to US$.  DC, which is  the leading company for mortgage lending in Russia, would use the loan proceeds to on-lend to Russian families via its own origination network, or via Russian banks which: (i)  pass DC''s comprehensive audit review, and (ii) are trained in DC''s credit underwriting process (Qualified Banks).  With long term funding from DC, the Qualified Banks would originate long term fixed rate US dollar denominated/linked mortgage loans, secured by properties in Russia to borrowers who meet DC''s underwriting criteria .  The Qualified Banks and the properties securing the mortgage loans, are currently based in the Greater Moscow and St. Petersburg areas.      The proposed investment would represent IFC''s entry into the Russian housing finance market, a crucial building block of the Russian financial sector.  The project will have a significant developmental impact for several reasons:  first, since housing finance provides a substantial benefit to social sector development, the project will contribute to the growth of Russias nascent mortgage finance market.  It will also help increase the mobility of the labor force by alleviating the difficulties faced in finding suitable and affordable housing.  The project will also result in the creation of jobs in construction and its downstream economies.  Lastly, IFCs credit line will stimulate the ability for the company to obtain funding from external sources in the future.
TV3 Russia Project The project consists of funding the expansion strategy of TV3 Russia (TV3 or the company), a free-to-air television broadcasting group based in Russia.  The company, which focuses on broadcasting entertainment-related content, is 100% owned by Independent Network Television Holding Limited (INTH), a sole purpose holding company incorporated in Cyprus.  Currently, TV3 broadcasts to a potential audience of over 50 million viewers (30% of the Russian population) through 62 local stations, 8 of which are approximately 100% owned and operated subsidiaries of the company.  Through its expansion, TV3 plans to: 
- increase distribution; 
- improve programming; and 
- enhance its promotional activities.
Alliance Oil Co. Alliance Oil Company (AOC or the company) is a mid-sized, Russian oil company with a focus on downstream petroleum operations in Russia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. The company owns two petroleum refineries, one in Khabarovsk (Far East Russia) and another one in Kherson (Southern Ukraine).  Geographically centered around these two refineries, AOC operates an integrated logistics, wholesale, and retail distribution network for petroleum products, including three marine export terminals.  The company also participates in an exploration and extraction license in Kazakhstan and is bidding on a number of crude production assets in Russia.  

IFCs loan will be used to support the companys 2005/2006 capital investment budget, which amounts to about $100 million. It includes investments in the expansion of the companys retail network, refinery modernizations, expansion of logistics infrastructure, and geological exploration.  IFCs corporate loan will be the first long-term loan facility of the company, which currently relies exclusively on internal cash-flow generation and external short-term funding.
CPLF - Mytischi The proposed investment would support energy efficiency improvements in the district heating infrastructure of the city of Mytischi (the City) in 2011-2012. The Project, which would be a continuation of the broader infrastructure rehabilitation program supported by IBRD Municipal Heating Project (2001-2008) and IFC financing (2009-2010), is expected to finance installation of 178 automated individual heat substations. Rehabilitation of the heating infrastructure in the City to be supported under the proposed project will improve energy efficiency, improve the quality of heating and hot water services to residents, and reduce heat losses and maintenance costs. Ultimately the project will contribute to improving the living conditions and environment in the City.
BSGV - SocGen Vostok Banque Societe Generale Vostok (BSGV or the company) is a wholly-owned Russian subsidiary of the Societe Generale Group. BSGV started operations in 1993, and is a Russian bank licensed, regulated and supervised by the Central Bank of Russia. The project will support BSGVs recently announced major expansion plan within Russia, and specifically the Banks retail operations, including mortgage finance and its new wholly-owned leasing subsidiary, BSGV-Leasing.  Societe Generale is one of the first major global banking players to enter the Russian market and establish full-service banking operations.  By supporting the Banks operations, IFC will help bring additional competition and best practices to the market, as well as better access to high standard banking services and products for Russian companies and individuals. In addition, BSGVs commitment to Russia will send a positive signal to other major international financial institutions.
NBD SME/Energy Efficiency NBD (NBD or the Bank) was established in 1992 under the initiative of the local government of Nijhny Novgorod, Russia.  Despite its small size, NBD became one of the leading banks active in the SME segment in the region.  NBD continues its focus on SMEs, entrepreneurs, individuals and aims to remain a leading regional, independent institution, providing services to smaller enterprises and limited non-lending specialized services to larger companies.  According to the Bank, in Nizhny Novgorod region NBD has about 20% market share in the SME sector and a 60%-70% share in the sub-segment of sole proprietorship companies, catering to the needs of about 5,000 SME clients through its 17 branches in the region.    The proposed investment in NBD comprises of:     - a credit line (up to $7 million) to support the continued demand for credit from SMEs; and   - a credit line (up to $8 million) to work with NBD to introduce energy efficiency (EE) loans to corporates in the Volga region. The project is expected to contribute to the promotion of Russia Sustainable Energy Finance Program and to support the development of a regional bank active in the SME segment which are IFCs strategic priorities in Russia. This expected development impacts from this project are as follows:   - supporting development of a well-capitalized and well-managed privately-controlled bank such as NBD which aspire/adhere to international standards of risk management and corporate governance and providing it with support in the area of new product development and implementation (EE component); - supporting provision of term funding to SMEs as the Bank clearly is unable to mobilize funding for tenors beyond 2 years from commercial sources;  - promoting IFCs EE product in the region of Nizhny Novgorod and producing a demonstration effect for other Russian banks and entities; and  - testing IFCs variable rate pure Russian Rouble loan for the first time in Russia.