YEREVAN, July 12. /ARKA/. VTB Bank (Armenia) has provided a $4 million co-financing for construction of a greenhouse owned and run by Ecotomato company that grows  Dutch roses,  according to  Arsen Sandoyan, director of the company, who told journalists on Thursday that the company  has a two-hectare greenhouse, but in view of the growing demand for flowers  in the country and outside of it, it has decided to build a new, three-hectare greenhouse this year.
Sandoyan said Ardshininvestbank, another local bank, has provided a $3 million co-financing.
He said this money will be spent on purchasing special equipment from the Netherlands’ Dalsem company.

The Ecotomato director said that the new greenhouse will enable the company to double the annual production to 6-7  million roses. He said that the company grows nine varieties of roses - White Naomi, Peni Lane and Red Naomi are among them.
The greenhouse is expected to start functioning in September and the flowers will be exported to Russia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Latvia. The company is now negotiating exports to Kazakhstan.

VTB Bank (Armenia) acting CEO Yuri Gusev, on his side, said that the bank started cooperating with Ecotomato in the beginning of this year. “This is going to be a strategic program for the bank,’ he said adding this is one of the first projects in Armenia involving co-financing of two banks.
VTB Bank Armenia joined VTB Group in April 2004. VTB, the second largest bank of Russia, holds 100% of shares of VTB Bank (Armenia). VTB Bank (Armenia) has 68 branches all over Armenia’s territory. Of them, 24 are in Yerevan and 44 in provinces.
VTB Bank (Armenia) is fully owned by Russian VTB Group. It has the largest branch network in the country – 68.

Ardshininvestbank received its license for banking activities from the Central Bank of Armenia on February 27, 2003.
The bank’s main shareholders of are the Business Investment Center (86.82%) and the International Financial Corporation (10%). Arshininvestbank is an affiliated member of MasterCard/Europay international payment system and a stockholder of local transfer system Armenian Card closed joint stock company.

The Dutch Dalsem Horticultural Projects BV is a world-renowned developer of greenhouses projects and mushroom industry, a leader in the field of hi-tech greenhouses. -0-