Malta-based emerging markets finance specialist Credinvest International Corporate Finance Ltd has been appointed adviser to members of the Airport Association of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Under a newly signed agreement, Credinvest will advise all airport companies under the association's umbrella on investment and project financing, managing director Alain Mangion tells The Sunday Times.

The association's 231 members include all airport companies of the CIS in 22 countries spanning two continents. Member companies include any airport owners and operators airports across the region. Some airports are industry-specific - one handles passengers and cargo to one of the world's largest diamond mines in eastern Russia.

The agreement comes in the wake of a presentation on 'Investment in airports: strategies and challenges in today's environment' which Mr Mangion, an accountant, gave to a conference organised by the association in Moscow in October.

Credinvest, which has offices in Romania and Bulgaria, and is represented in the Ukraine and Azerbaijan, now plans to open an office in Russia. Mr Mangion's invitation to address the conference came through the Bulgaria office.

"The presentation focused on the short-term effects of the financial crisis this year, and the general view that, over time, banks and investors will return to investing in those projects which address an economic and social need - airports fall squarely within this category," Mr Mangion explains.

"I discussed the various issues of the financing process, including the importance of detailed and transparent information, presented appropriately, the requirements of lenders and investors, and the structures which may be used to attract investment - public-private partnerships or privatisation."

Apart from handling business related to the advisory agreement, Credinvest's new Russia office will be engaged in an energy-related negotiation over gas.

State officials have also entrusted Credinvest to advise on government programmes on housing and highway transportation.

Mr Mangion, a former non-resident ambassador to Romania, says Russia and the CIS abound with opportunities, particularly for Maltese investors and business because the scale of each project is usually enough to immediately justify economies of scale.

"There are considerable possibilities in construction and civil engineering, transportation, IT, manufacturing and consumer products and even agriculture," Mr Mangion points out. "And yet, in spite of its sheer size, Russia, as a market, is relationship-driven and foreign investors do business because they prove they are trustworthy first and capable later - and that they are not there for the 'fast buck'."

Credinvest was established in 1993 and provides advisory services on project and structured finance overseas. The Romanian office's key client is the Ministry of Transportation. In Bulgaria, it focuses on renewable energy and partnerships with municipalities over infrastructure projects, blending capital with European Union structural funds.

The company also has a regional office in Baku, handling business in the main former Soviet states, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

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