The agreement identifies basic areas of cooperation and provides for exchanges of information on joint projects between HBOR and UBAF through funding and co-funding of exports. It lays the groundwork for a stronger presence of Croatian companies in North Africa, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and China, where Croatian companies are already present, but not sufficiently considering the economic potential of the regions.
Cooperation between the two banks began in 2005 with the participation of UBAF representatives in an HBOR-sponsored conference on export promotion, while last year a series of meetings were organised for Croatian exporters interested in doing business with Arab countries, HBOR president Anton Kovacev said.
UBAF is a Paris-based bank that promotes trade with Arab countries. The French bank Calyon has a 44 per cent stake in UBAF, while the remaining 56 per cent is owned by leading financial institutions from 22 countries members of the Arab League.
UBAF president Patrick Legait said that UBAF planned to open its branch in Zagreb this September provided that it received permission from the Croatian National Bank. The branch would cover the area stretching from Poland to Turkey and from Croatia to Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and Zagreb was chosen as the seat of the new branch because of its excellent geographical position, he explained.