The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's long-term financing institution, is lending ECU 10 million to Bank Austria d.d., Ljubljana (Slovenia), to support small and medium-sized investment projects undertaken by Slovenian companies in industry and tourism, as well as small-scale schemes in the fields of environmental protection, energy saving and infrastructure. Bank Austria d.d. is a subsidiary of Bank of Austria AG, Wien, which is guaranteeing the loan.
In Slovenia as in other Central European countries (CEC), the EIB finances large-scale investments with direct loans and smaller projects indirectly through global loans (lines of credit) to selected intermediary banks, which on-lend to small and medium-size companies and to promoters of smaller infrastructure schemes.
With this loan in Slovenia the EIB has now established global loans in support of small-size investments in all of the CEC where it is active.
Given the investment needs of most companies in Slovenia and also of Slovene municipalities, the loan will contribute to cover a lack of much needed appropriate financing. The global loan to Bank Austria d.d. will provide adequate long-term funds to public and private sector promoters to help the development of a competitive private sector and of necessary infrastructure. It will further promote regional development and creation of employment, hence consolidating economic growth and facilitating Slovenia's integration into the EU, as foreseen under the Accession Partnership Agreement between Slovenia and the EU.
The global loan to Bank Austria d.d. brings total EIB lending in Slovenia since 1990 to ECU 335 million. Previous EIB financing was for the rehabilitation of the main east-west railway lines, the creation of a new mobile telephone network and the building of the Ljubljana-Celje and the Sentjakob-Blagovica motorways.
The EIB has advanced some ECU 8 billion for investment projects in 12 Central European countries since 1990. Under mandates covering the years 1998 to 2000, the Bank is to lend ECU 5.5 billion in this region. Part of this is being provided in the form of a Pre-Accession Facility for helping the applicants in the region prepare for EU membership.
The conversion rates used by the EIB for statistical purposes during the current quarter are those obtaining on 30 June 1998, when ECU 1 = GBP 0.66, IEP 0.78, USD 1.09590, SIT 185.973.