Central Asia

Euromoney Awards for excellence 2006Azerbaijan I Kazakhstan I Kyrgyzstan I Uzbekistan

BNP Paribas managed to arrange a groundbreaking deal in Azerbaijan at the end of last year, when it set up a $750 million five-year facility for Socar, the state oil company, to finance its share of the ACG oil field, which it is developing together with BP. The deal was the first for Socar to involve development banks or export credit agencies.

Xavier Venereau, head of the European oil and gas group, says: “The deal was a big success. We syndicated it very quickly. The transaction really helped open up the Azeri financial market.” ABN Amro also deserves credit for its trade finance deals in Azerbaijan, such as the transaction it helped arrange for Azerbaijan Airlines to acquire four Airbus A319 airplanes.

BNP has also been active in Kazakhstan, doing several deals for KazMunaiGaz and its subsidiaries, as well as for independent oil companies like Nelson Resources. For example, it set up a $600 million bridge facility for KazTransGaz, together with ABN Amro.