Eye on the environment - and profit

The International Finance Corporation and MDM Bank say they will provide loans for energy efficiency to Russian companies.

BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP said Thursday it will spend up to $US 1 BLN to cut the waste gas it burns off, known as gas flaring.

It comes as the International Finance Corporation is lending Russia's MDM bank $US 20 MLN for energy efficiency projects.

The credit line is part of an overall $100 MLN loan the IFC is granting to the Russian bank.

Cooperation between the two institutions is on the rise, with the IFC set to become a 5 % shareholder in MDM, Russia's sixth largest bank.

“I have seen that these $US 20 MLN could become $US 200 MLN and if we do it, other banks – private banks and public banks – will certainly enter this market because as I have said there are favourable terms attached to this type of credit, more manageable in medium and long-term for small and medium sized enterprises which they will find as a very low cost financing,” explained Michelle Pear, the Board Chairman of MDM Bank.