KULOB, August 18, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Branches of commercial banks and microfinance organizations operating in the Kulob zone of Khatlon province have provided 71.6365 million somoni in loans since the beginning of this year, which is 8.9369 million somoni more than in the same period last year, Abdukarim Nematov, the head of the branch of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) in Kulob, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to him, 46.1 percent (33.04619 million somoni) of the overall amount of loans allocated over the report period have gone to supporting enhancement of the agrarian sector and 25.6178 million somoni (35.8 percent) have been provided to local commercial organizations and entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, industrial, construction and transportation sectors have received only 10.1 percent of loans provided by local banks this year.  Crediting of the industrial sector has decreased by 1.2 percent compared to the same period of 2009, while crediting of the construction and transportation sectors has increased by 0.3 percent, Nematov said.