On June 19, Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), the international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, announced that it has signed its second €20 million loan agreement with Kurum International Albania, the largest steel producer in Albania.
This medium-term BSTDB financing will assist Kurum International, a member of Kurum Group (Turkey), to further increase its production output, while meeting national and EU environmental, health and safety standards. BSTDB's first loan to Kurum International supported the company's investment program for modernization and maintenance of its production facilities in Albania.
"The bank's continued support to the development and modernization of Kurum International will contribute to economic growth, employment and expansion of export capacity in Albania. Furthermore, the operation has an important regional integration impact, reflecting the priority we attach to promoting cooperation between our member countries, in this case Turkey and Albania", stated Andrey Kondakov, BSTDB president in Tirana.
Kurum International has a 70 percent share of the Albanian market, manufacturing and selling a variety of hot rolled construction iron products to clients in Albania, the EU and the Balkans.