Ukraine’s PrivatBank has entered into the Georgian market after buying into 75% of shares of a small Georgian Tao Bank for USD 25 million.
Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia LTD was a major stakeholder of Tao Bank, whose total assets reached GEL 26.3 million (USD 15.6 million) this year.
PrivatBank, with a net asset of up to USD 8 billion, has an ambition to become a leading bank in Georgia with a plan to establish up to 100 branches and 200 ATMs throughout Georgia by 2008, officials from the PrivatBank said at a presentation in Tbilisi on May 15.
This is the first major deal in the country’s banking sector this year.
Georgia’s banking system is expected to attract up to USD 500 million in foreign investments, according to the central bank chef Roman Gotsiridze.
A deal between the Georgia’s TBC Bank and Israel’s second largest bank, Leumi, was announced in January, 2007. But the deal has not been finalized as TBC reportedly announced withdrawal in May.
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