As IFC reports, the Volga steamship line will be granted $42 million and the Northwest steamship line, $47 million, for the purchase of eight sea-river dry cargo vessels for each line. The ships will be used for export-import deliveries and container traffic.
The loans include $48 million of IFC's own funds and $41 million of a syndicated loan of western banks HSH Nordbank, Hollandsche Bank-Unie and Natexis Banques.
The Volga steamship line was set up in 1843, is registered in Nizhni Novgorod (the Upper Volga region, 400km to the east of Moscow), and is one of the four largest steamship lines of the country. The main shareholders are the Metropol investment company (42%) and the Russian Property Management Agency (25.55%). The steamship line transports goods and petrochemicals, as well as tourists.
The Northwest steamship line was set up in 1993 and delivers goods, builds and repairs ships and carries passengers.
Russia became an IFC member in 1993. Since then IFC has invested $1.8 billion in the Russian economy, including $200 million in the form of syndicated loans.
IFC's investment portfolio in Russia is $1.3 billion.
