Loan portfolio of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan as of October 1amounted to $217.2

/Kazakhstan today, October 21, 03/ - The loan portfolio of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan as of October of the current year amounted to $217.2 mn. Kambar Shalgimbayev, the president of DBK, cited such figures today, on October 21 in Astana. This includes loans for realization of investment projects, which totaled $132.7 mn, for export operations financing - $84.5 mn, K.Shalgimbayev informed. He also noted that all projects financed by the bank correspond to investment priorities, which are defined by the Memo on credit policy of DBK for a period of 2001-2003. According to him, "DBK's loan portfolio formed is classified as a standard", what reflects "thoroughly made examinations, right policy on risk management". He also reminded that the bank by setting a goal of providing dynamic growth of financing the economy of the RK, plans to increase the volume of lent funds up to $500 mn in 2005 and $700 mn in 2006. Moreover, K.Shalgimbayev stressed that one of the main requirements of the bank to investment projects is the responsiveness to quality standards. According to his information, the sate-run development bank prefer systematic projects that guarantee an additional economic and social effect, and in particular those, which form "value chains that contribute to the competitiveness of a product and the highest value-added", as well as to projects on creation and development of industrial and transportation infrastructure, and local-development-encouraging projects. The authorized capital of the DBK created in 2001 totals KZT37.7 bn ($253.1 mn) [2003-10-21]