The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is mulling the possibility of providing funds to four or five Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies, Senior Banker at EBRD Iryna Marchenko has said.
“The bank would like to finance more the pharmaceutical sector. We are working with four or five companies now, studying them to provide with funds,” she said at a meeting of pharmaceutical companies with EBRD in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Marchenko said that the bank seeks to finance local pharmaceutical companies that are looking to borrowing to implement their investment plans.
“A company should have a clear investment program and it is to suit a long-term strategy of the company,” the banker said.
She also said that EBRD seeks to cooperate with international companies that bought a company in Ukraine.
“They have funds, but from the point of covering political risks, for example, to protect investment, they would like to have such a reliable partner as EBRD,” she said.
EBRD is also interested in supporting state-run enterprises being privatized.
“We could provide a pre-privatization support,” she said.
Marchenko said that among successful projects to finance companies in the Ukrainian pharmaceutical sector is cooperation with Farmak (the bank implemented three projects with the company), Sperco’s project to create industrial facilities meeting GMP standard and cooperation with Venta pharmaceutical distributor with EBRD entered the company’s share capital.
Marchenko also said that EBRD has unsuccessful experience of cooperation with pharmaceutical distributor Alba Ukraine. (interfax.com.ua)