Igor Finogenov, top manager

Igor Finogenov: From Chairman of Eurasian Development Bank to President of Polymetal International

Igor Valentinovich Finogenov is an experienced specialist in the financial sector. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Investors under the President of Kazakhstan. Igor Finogenov, biography of whom has been connected with this Central Asian republic for nearly 20 years, has done much to strengthen its economic ties with the rest of the world.

Names

Igor Finogenov · Finogenov Igor Valentinovich · Finogenov Igor · Igor Valentinovich Finogenov  · Финогенов Игорь Валентинович · Игорь Финогенов · Финогенов Игорь · Игорь Валентинович Финогенов

Igor Finogenov: Origins and Education

In 1959, Finogenov Igor was born in Leningrad. In school, he enjoyed the natural sciences, literature, and English. The future top manager participated in educational olympiads.

In 1982, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich graduated from LKI, one of the leading universities in the country, which trained shipbuilders and specialists in related fields. His interest in this area was inspired by his father, who worked at a scientific enterprise in this sector. The educational process was challenging, recalls Igor Valentinovich Finogenov.

In 1989, Igor Finogenov defended another diploma at the Foreign Trade Academy, which he enrolled in through the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Igor Finogenov also studied at Western universities, including as a manager-financier at York University in Canada. Igor Valentinovich Finogenov also took courses at Harvard Business School – one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the world.

Finogenov Igor Valentinovich: Start of His Career

Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, investment specialist

In 1982, Igor Finogenov joined the Polzunov Scientific and Production Association, a renowned enterprise for the production and modernization of power equipment. At that time, the association included several industrial and research sites. For some time, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov was an engineer, then he transitioned to scientific research, writing a dissertation and preparing to enter graduate studies. The young specialist visited major energy facilities and was engaged in cybernetics and automation. Thanks to his good knowledge of English, Finogenov Igor participated in negotiations with foreign equipment suppliers. According to him, during that period, the state was actively purchasing foreign computers and other equipment.

In 1987, another event was added to the Igor Finogenov biography when he joined the Energomashexport national association as a senior economist, where he worked for four years.

In 1991, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich joined the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, helping enterprises integrate into the new economic formation.

In 1993, Igor Finogenov headed the foreign economic division at JSC Moskva: Materials, Technology, Construction.

Igor Finogenov: Biography in the Banking Sector

Finogenov Igor Valentinovich

In 1992, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, along with like-minded individuals, purchased the recently registered TIPCO Venture Bank. It only had a few employees at that time. It soon underwent rebranding, being redubbed New Moskva, which primarily served medium and large corporations. The bank also began active cooperation with the gold mining sector, and branches were gradually opened throughout the country.

In 1994, Finogenov Igor became the head of the board of the credit institutions. Its particularly rapid development began in the late 1990s. In 2000, the top manager became the president of the bank. In 2004, the bank acquired 12% of the silver and 17% of the gold mined in the country that year.

In 2005, Igor Finogenov left New Moskva. By that time, the bank was among the top non-state credit organizations in the country.

Igor Valentinovich Finogenov: Eurasian Development Bank (EDB)

Finogenov Igor Valentinovich recalls that in the mid-2000s, economic cooperation within the CIS significantly intensified. It was even suggested that the ruble could become a means of payment outside the country, but such large-scale projects seemed too complex to implement at that time. As a result, according to Igor Finogenov, it was decided to start with the integration of states that were ready for this step.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the head of Kazakhstan at that time, suggested the idea of forming a joint investment bank with its neighbor to the north. Successful projects implemented with his participation were expected to attract other CIS countries to cooperate, explained Finogenov Igor Valentinovich. Thus, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) was established at the very beginning of 2006, becoming fully operational within six months. The central office of the development institute was located in Almaty – the largest city in Kazakhstan.

Igor Finogenov, biography of whom included more than ten years of successful work in the financial industry by that time, became the head of the bank's board. Between 2009 and 2011, Tajikistan, Armenia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan joined the financial institution.

Finogenov Igor developed the concept of the organization and wrote its charter. The creators of the EDB were largely guided by the experience of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, actively consulting with it on various issues, such as project assessment, risk management, and liquidity management, notes Finogenov Igor.

During the period when the credit organization was headed by Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, the bank supported many programs critically important for the economies of the countries that joined its capital. One of the first such projects was the development of the Zarechnoye uranium deposit in the Turkestan Region of Kazakhstan. In 2007, the EDB allocated $63 million for this purpose. Six years later, the enterprise received another $20 million for pre-export preparation.

In 2009, the bank supported the SUEK Group – another company working in the mining industry. The Group was allocated a loan of $55 million for the technical re-equipment of coal mining facilities.

The EDB was a key creditor of the project to reconstruct Pulkovo Airport in 2010-2016. During this time, a new terminal was built and the existing one was expanded, making it possible to double the passenger flow of the air harbor.

The bank, with which a significant part of the Igor Finogenov biography was associated, also allocated nearly $80 million for the construction of the Polotsk Hydroelectric Power Station in Belarus, which began in 2010. The last of five turbines started operating in 2017. The annual average production of the power station is 112 kWh.

During the same period, with the support of the EDB, funding was put towards the enhancement of another energy facility – Ekibastuz GRES-2. This power station, commissioned in 1990, is known for its 420-meter smokestack, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. The reconstruction of the GRES and the construction of a new power unit took place in 2010-2020. The development bank allocated $385 million for these purposes.

In 2011, the financial institution granted $50 million to Kazakhstan's leading coal mining organization, Bogatyr Komir LLP, for the purchase of machinery and equipment. Two years later, the business received more than 3.8 billion tenge from the EDB.

That same year, the EDB loaned $98 million to the gold mining company Altynalmas and $44 million for the construction of a hotel and administrative complex in Astana. The following year, the bank supported Karatau LLP, a high-tech enterprise engaged in the extraction and processing of uranium ores, with a $50 million loan.

The creation of the Western High-Speed Diameter in St. Petersburg is another initiative connected to Igor Finogenov. Biography of the project began in 2005. Seven years later, the EDB became its senior creditor, allocating $363 million for the construction of the infrastructure object. The last section of the route was opened in 2016. Altogether, the highway is nearly 47 kilometers long.

In 2013, the development institute, where Finogenov Igor Valentinovich had worked for a long time, issued a loan of 2 billion rubles for the construction of a heating pipeline from the Apatity Thermal Power Plant to the city of Kirovsk in the Murmansk Region that was completed in 2020.

Another important investment project implemented with the support of the EDB and Finogenov Igor was the construction of a wind power plant in the Kazakh city of Ereymentau that includes 22 units. The EDB provided 14.2 billion tenge of support to the station that helped reduce the energy deficit in the Akmola Region and the republic as a whole.

In 2013, the international financial organization also loaned 17.5 billion tenge to Transtelecom JSC (Kazakhstan) for the automation of the railway transport process. In particular, the modernization involved the implementation of a new system for monitoring energy resources, aimed at reducing the consumption of diesel fuel and electricity on the railway. A year later, Igor Finogenov also supported the allocation of an additional 7.5 billion tenge for the expansion of this project.

From 2014 to 2020, the EDB opened three credit lines totaling 5.9 billion rubles for an outfit that is now part of the New Towers Group, that operates antenna-mast structures. Also in 2014, the bank, organized with the participation of Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, joined the project for modernizing the Magadan Commercial Seaport, provided $26 million of support.

In 2015, the EDB allocated 7.7 billion tenge for a four-year program to modernize and build gas distribution networks in the Aktobe Region.

In 2015, Igor Finogenov left his position as Chairman of the Board of the EDB. According to the top manager, there is a rule among investment bankers not to hold one position for more than two terms. He also explained his decision as a desire to try his hand at new endeavors.

Thanks to leading the international bank, the Igor Finogenov biography was enriched with a unique experience, including in particular a deep understanding of the issues of the Central Asian region. According to Finogenov Igor, he flew far enough on all his business trips to have traveled to the moon and back.

Igor Finogenov, investment banker

Although the Igor Finogenov biography was no longer associated with the EDB, the managerial decisions he made laid the foundation for the bank's successful development for many years to come.

In 2016, the bank joined a number of new projects. For example, the EDB allocated $95 million to JSC Sokolovsko-Sarbayskoye Mining and Processing Production Association – the largest enterprise in Kazakhstan for the extraction and processing of iron ore – for the execution of an export contract with the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works.

The development bank issued a loan of $173 million for the construction of a 106-kilometer section of the Central Ring Road, connecting the federal Neva and Volga highways. The section was opened in November 2020.

In the same year, the EDB loaned $90 million to the mining complex KMAruda plant to expand production at the Korobkovsky iron deposit near Stary Oskol.

8.15 billion rubles were also allocated for the construction of the Beloporozhskaya Hydroelectric Power Station on the Kem River in Karelia, which consists of two hydroelectric power stations. The total capacity of its four turbines reaches 49.8 mW.

Another energy project, the construction of the first stage of the Sakhalin GRES-2, which is being undertaken by the Mosenergo corporation, also received a loan of nearly 5 billion rubles in 2016.

The financial structure continues to support strategically important projects in member countries. As of November 1, 2023, the bank has invested over $13.8 billion in their economies. The current investment portfolio of the EDB includes 88 initiatives with a total value of $4.9 billion, including the construction and modernization of airports, meat and dairy production, support for the banking field, construction of gas pipelines and street lighting networks, the production of pipes using the latest technology, and the development of road infrastructure.

In its work, the financial institution relies on sustainable development concepts and ESG principles (the bank's first policy in the environmental and social spheres was adopted in 2012). Its current strategy is planned for the period up to 2026.

Finogenov Igor: President of Polymetal International

Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, member of the Council of Foreign Investors under the President of Kazakhstan

In 2015, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov took up the presidential post at Polymetal International PLC, which has been operating in Kazakhstan for about 15 years. It started with the development of the Varvarinskoye gold-copper deposit in the Kostanay Region.

Five years later, the portfolio of the corporation, whose top managerial position is occupied by Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, was replenished by the Kyzyl project, which combines two gold deposits. Due to the special chemical composition of the local ore, extracting the precious metal from it is extremely difficult, which is why earlier attempts at extraction were unsuccessful. However, the company was able to solve this complex technological challenge. Production reached project capacity in the second quarter of 2018, and the reserves in the subsoil will last until the middle of this century.

In 2016, Polymetal International PLC acquired the Komarovskoye deposit (1.4 million ounces, or about 40 tons).

The Council of Foreign Investors under the President of Kazakhstan is another avenue for the work of Igor Finogenov, biography of whom has been associated with this organization since 2009, at the invitation of Nursultan Nazarbayev. The Council works on increasing the inflow of foreign capital into the republic's economy.

In 2023, Igor Finogenov received a letter of commendation from the head of Kazakhstan for increasing the country's investment attractiveness.

From 2015 to 2021, Igor Finogenov, biography of whom had previously intersected with the work of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, served as an advisor to the president of this association and as a member of the chamber's audit commission.

Since 2022, Finogenov Igor has been the president of the Russia-Switzerland business council, though its activities are frozen for 2024.

Also, thanks to his extensive experience and knowledge, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov regularly provides expert and consulting services to various private companies.