Bishkek, 29 August 2001: President Askar Akaev today officially inaugurated the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB). With a fully paid-up share capital of 7m dollars, KICB becomes the country's largest commercial bank.

The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), the principal shareholder, will also oversee management which draws on both international expertise and local professionals. Other shareholders include EBRD, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) and the government of the Kyrgyz Republic. KICB has also received a significant grant from the government of Japan and considerable assistance from [the German] Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) [bank].

"KICB, which will operate to the highest international banking standards, is committed to economic development in the Kyrgyz Republic," said Iain Cheyne, chairman of KICB and a director of AKFED. "We hope", he continued, "that our focus on the corporate sector and on medium and long-term finance will both contribute to the growth of the banking industry and stimulate entrepreneurial activity in the local economy."

KICB's management team includes a chief executive officer with experience in the Western banking system as well as in transition economies. Professional Kyrgyz staff have been working closely with the chief credit officer and chief operations officer, who have been engaged under a technical assistance contract with ICC Bank plc, Ireland, which is helping the development of the bank's internal systems and also providing specialized training programmes for personnel at various levels.

The bank is well-positioned to provide a wide range of products and services, including, short-term working capital loans, medium to long-term credits, trade finance products, corporate deposits, international money transfer, money market and foreign exchange operations as well as correspondent banking.

[Passage omitted: background on shareholders' international activities]