Raiffeisen Bank International is considering Central Asia as a new direction for business expansion

Raiffeisen Bank International sees Central Asia as a new direction for business expansion

Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International plans to make Central Asia a new vector of growth and is considering the possibility of purchasing assets in the region. This step is being prepared against the backdrop of an expected inflow of 3.15 billion euros to the bank, linked to its Russian subsidiary.

According to Bloomberg, in the coming weeks, CEO Michael Hellerer is expected to present an updated strategy in which Central Asian countries will be designated as new growth points. A representative of the financial institution stated that Western companies are restructuring supply chains, and the states of the region are increasingly orienting themselves toward the West, so the bank is carefully studying options to adapt to these changes. At the same time, concrete negotiations on the purchase of target assets are not yet underway.

The bank has already begun taking steps to strengthen its position in the region. In June of this year, Raiffeisen expanded investor access to Uzbek securities, including government bonds. In addition, the company operates a leasing business in Kazakhstan. Experts note that Central Asia is a good fit for the bank due to its experience in adjacent markets and strong positions in trade finance and payments.

The financial foundation for the expansion into the Central Asian region will be the funds received following an Austrian court decision to transfer the assets of Rasperia Trading to Raiffeisen. The payment of 3.15 billion euros will be the first indirect extraction of capital from the bank's once most profitable Russian subsidiary. Against the backdrop of these expectations, the lender's shares have risen by 71 percent this year. At the same time, the bank is finalizing deals to purchase a Romanian unit for 591 million euros and a Balkan lender for 517 million euros.