DUSHANBE, August 8, Asia-Plus — Russia’s Center for Financial Technologies has won a tender announced by open joint-stock company Bank Eskhata for replacement of its automated banking system (ABS).

Mirzoibrohim Ibrohimov, the head of Bank Eskhata’s marketing department, told Asia-Plus that the tender was announced last November and five companies from Russia and Ukraine had take part in the tender.  

According to him, a total cost of the project for replacement of the bank’s automated banking system is $500,000.  “A half of this sum will be provided by the bank itself and another $250,000 will be provided in form of a grant by Japan, which is the largest single country contributing to the Technical cooperation Fund Program (TCFP) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,” the Bank Eskhata official said.  

Established in November 1993, a privately owned Eskhata Bank, with headquarters in Khujand, has eight branches in various regions of the country.  The bank got operating license in 1994.  In December 2005, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) took equity in Eskhata Bank that allowed Eskhata to continue to comply with the National Bank of Tajikistan’s minimum capital requirements, which have been revised upwards to $5 million.   The regulative capital of Eskhata Bank now amounts to 23.1 million somonis.