RTRS-INTERVIEW-Eurasian Development Bank eyes $300 mln loan financing. Reuters.

The Eurasian Development Bank is looking to raise $200—300 million this year through syndicated bank loans than its long-anticipated Eurobond, the bank’s chairman said on Tuesday.

The bank was set up to finance infrastructure projects in Russia and Kazakhstan.

«It’s my opinion that this year is not the best time for a (Eurobond) issue,» Igor Finogenov, the bank’s chairman told Reuters while on a visit to London.

He also said the bank, which has a capitalisation of $1.4 billion, aims to sign about $1.2 billion in loan agreements this year and disburse about $400 million to aircraft-, cement-makers as well as energy production-related firms.

Eurasian Development Bank said last year that it would raise $300 million via a Eurobond issue at the end of 2007. But Finogenov said the deal — which would have been its maiden Eurobond had yet to materialise because of financial market turmoil in the recent months.

«We are not in a hurry and we can wait for the best market situation. We can cover our financing needs from syndicated bank loans,» he said, adding that the group had already obtained about $550 million through two such deals since last December.

(Reporting by Sebastian Tong)