Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Bids for New Kabul Bank Evaluated

Bids for New Kabul Bank Evaluated

KABUL - The New Kabul Bank privatization committee has evaluated financial and technical strength of the two companies that submitted bids in mid-December, the Ministry of Finance said on Saturday.

“In technical evaluation of the two bidders, KRU Capital Partners Ltd obtained 80 marks out of 100 score while CBGI LLC Company obtained a score 76,” a statement from the ministry said.

The final outcome of the tender would be announced after Cabinet ratification, it said, adding the evaluation committee would recommend both bidders. If the winner fails to meet the requisite conditions, the second bidder automatically replaces it.

On Dec. 16, America’s Construction Business Group Inc. and the UAE-based KRU Capital Partners Ltd submitted bids for the bank’s shares. The ministry plans to give 70 percent of assets to new managers if they technically revitalize the bank.

Da Afghanistan Bank says, under the relevant rules, the bidder has to deposit $20 million in guarantee. Of the 16 banks operational in Afghanistan, four are owned by foreign investors.

In March, a special tribunal convicted 20 accused in the bank’s big-time loan scandal of 2010 and handed down prison sentences to former executives and ordered them to return hundreds of millions of dollars they had stolen.

Ex-chairman of Kabul Bank Sher Khan Farnoud and former chief executive officer Khalilullah Ferozi were found guilty of pinching $278 million and $530 million respectively. (Pajhwok)