Turkey's Odeabank to increase capital by $340M

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Odeabank said on Monday that it will increase its working capital by 1 billion Turkish liras ($340 million) with support from the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Middle Eastern investors and Bank Audi.

Odeabank, a subsidiary of Lebanon's largest lender, Bank Audi, said in a statement that the capital increase would provide additional financial flexibility to fund large-scale infrastructure projects and increase access to finance for medium- and small-sized companies (SMEs).

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the EBRD are investing $110 million and $90 million respectively, the bank said.

“The remaining balance will be covered by Middle Eastern investors and Bank Audi itself. Following the capital increase, Bank Audi Group will remain a majority shareholder of Odea Bank with a stake of more than 75 percent," the statement added.

The bank said that the deal was subject to regulatory approvals.

"With this capital increase, we will be able to expand our lending support to infrastructure investments and projects contributing to the development of the Turkish economy," said Huseyin Ozkaya, Odeabank general manager.