Yerevan, September 20 /Mediamax/. Head of Raiffeisen International Herbert Stepic confirmed that the bank is considering the possibility of acquisitions in Russia, Kazakhstan and Armenia, however, he refused to name the possible objects of the purchase.

Reuters reports that Raiffeisen International explained its intention to emit new shares at the sum of 1,2bln euro aiming at gaining free financial means for purchasing attractive assets in Eastern Europe and the former USSR.

“We will get the necessary resource, which will allow us giving quick reaction to the appearance of opportunities in the market. I can say that we fill our tanks in a way so that the highly efficient engine is capable of continuing working on high speeds”, Herbert Stepic stated.

Mediamax recalls that in May 2007 Herbert Stepic already stated the intention of Raiffeisen International to acquire banks in Kazakhstan and Armenia.

“When we have a worthwhile target it’s possible that we will go ahead with an acquisition. The most important condition for us is the political situation in the country. We will go to places where the government and the president like us”, Stepic said then.

Raiffeisen is already strongly represented in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and is the biggest foreign credit institution in Russia, where it owns and is merging “Raiffeisenbank Austria” and “Impexbank”.

Mediamax notes that “Impexbank” is the owner of 19,91% shares of the Armenian “Areximbank”.