EBRD won't give up investing in Estonia yet

TALLINN (ETA) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), one of Estonia's main foreign investors, does not intend to give up supporting Estonia with investments as yet, business dailyAripaev reported on Jan. 25.

"I believe that we still have room to act here," Urmas Paavel, representative of EBRD in Estonia, said.

He admitted though that EBRD's role in supporting transition economies will decline, which means the identity and strategy of the bank will have to change. "I think that EBRD will have to face the issue of further existence in a more serious way when the first new accessions to the European Union take place," Paavel said.

EBRD has invested more than four billion kroons in the Estonian economy so far. The bank began by investing in infrastructure projects and has also extensively supported the financial system.

Without the support from the EBRD, the Estonian economy would have developed at a much slower pace, said Veikko Maripuu of Suprema Securities.

In addition to investing in such infrastructure projects as water systems and Tallinn Airport, EBRD opened credit lines to Estonian banks to help local businesses finance their projects.