Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) has extended a €20mn loan to Kurum International, the largest steel producer in Albania. The company belongs to Kurum Group in Turkey.

The medium-term financing is aimed at supporting the firm’s investment-related working capital needs and ongoing modernisation and maintenance.

The investment programme aims at increasing capacity and modernising exisiting facilities in Albania. Two additional financial institutions, Germany’s DEG and Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank are also set to support BSTDB’s efforts to finance these planned developments.

Kurum International, Albania, was set up in 1999 to expand the activities of the Turkish group Kurum. It now holds a 70% share in the Albania market, manufacturing and selling a range of hot-rolled construction iron products to clients in Albania, the EU and the Balkans.