EBRD invests $100M in Turkish energy firm

By Gokhan Ergocun

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (AA) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Wednesday bought a $100 million stake in a subsidiary of Turkish firm IC Ictas Energy.

An agreement for the investment was signed during the EBRD annual meeting and business forum in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

Ictas Yenilebilir Enerji Yatirimlari, which has 10 hydropower plants, hopes to use the money to make an investment in wind farms and solar projects.

Jurgen Rigterink, EBRD’s first vice president, said: “As a shareholder, we are committed to help the company grow into a leading producer of renewable energy."

He added: "We also look forward to a new regulatory support scheme for renewables, which we hope will unlock further investment in the sector and help Turkey switch to domestically sourced green power generation.”

Serhat Cecen, the chairman of IC Ictas Energy, added: “We are committed to increasing our existing renewable portfolio of 400 MW with the support of our long-time financial and business partner, while ensuring that Turkey’s rich natural resources are effectively and efficiently used in electricity production, as envisaged in Turkey’s 2023 strategy.”

Established in 1991 to facilitate reconstruction in Central and Eastern Europe after the Cold War, to date the EBRD has since made investments worth over €130 billion ($145 billion) in around 5,200 projects.

As a leading institutional investor in Turkey, the EBRD has invested over €11 billion ($12.3 billion) in 283 projects in the country since 2009.

This year, the EBRD event has the theme “Connecting Economies for Stronger Growth,” with a focus on ways to "connect economies for strong growth and impact, both in the Western Balkans and beyond," according to its website.

At the three-day event, which started on Tuesday, some 3,000 attendees -- experts, officials, businesspeople, environmental specialists, and entrepreneurs -- are discussing topics such as global trade, blockchain, digitization, tourism, and migration.