Backed by Asian Development Bank, Afghanistan International Bank (AIB) was officially opened on July 5, and the ADB's Board of Directors has approved 25 percent stake in AIB, while the remaining 75 percent of AIB was owned by a group of established Afghan business professionals, sources disclosed this here on Tuesday.
According to them, Afghanistan's Vice President, Hedayat Amin Arsala, the Da Afghanistan Bank (the central bank) Governor Dr Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi, and the AIB CEO John W. Haye, officiated over the ribbon cutting ceremony, while shareholders, management and international and local business and diplomatic communities in Kabul also attended the ceremony.
They said, "an agreement was also signed between AIB and the US Agency for international development for a two million dollars line of credit allocated to AIB for the purpose of on-lending to agribusiness projects. AIB aims to support the growth and development of Afghanistan's banking sector over the long term and contribute to sustainable growth of the economy. Its shareholders represent a cross-section of Afghan society with businesses in various industry sectors."
They further said that the ADB's involvement was in the form of financing, shareholder and board representation that would help to instil confidence in the banking and private sectors in Afghanistan.
"ADB plays a significant role in providing risk mitigation and catalysing private sector development. The ADB plans to use this investment as a platform for other opportunities to support Afghanistan's economic development through private sector investments," they added.
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