Igor Valentinovich Finogenov is a businessman, banker, and finance expert who made a significant contribution to the creation and development of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Thanks to the work of Igor Finogenov, the investment attractiveness of the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan significantly increased.
Finogenov Igor: Education
Igor Finogenov was born in Leningrad on March 24, 1959. In 1982, the future entrepreneur graduated from LKI. This institute is a leading Russian educational institution for training specialists in shipbuilding and related industries, such as cybernetics, power engineering, materials science, and instrumentation.
In 1989, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich obtained another higher education degree, this time from the Foreign Trade Academy. He also completed management and finance courses at York University in Canada. In addition, Finogenov Igor underwent a top management course at the leading Harvard Business School.
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov: Early Career
In 1982, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich was assigned to the Polzunov Scientific and Production Association in Leningrad. The association, still in operation today, specializes in research and design of power equipment. Its product line includes equipment for thermal power plants, hydroelectric power stations, nuclear power plants, combined cycle power plants, compressor and gas pumping stations, and energy equipment for various industrial sectors and the housing and utilities sector. Igor Finogenov started as an engineer and then moved to the position of a scientific researcher.
In 1987, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov became a senior economist at the foreign trade enterprise Energomashexport, remaining in this position until 1991.
In 1993, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich was responsible for foreign economic activity as the vice president of the joint stock company Materials, Technology, Construction. During this same period, he became interested in the banking sector and soon shifted his focus entirely in that direction.
Igor Finogenov: In the Banking Sector
In 1992, Finogenov Igor, along with business partners, acquired the TIPCO Venture Bank, founded in the same year. At the time of the deal, the credit organization had only four employees.
In 1994, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich became the head of the board of the structure (he was previously the deputy chairman). It was then that the bank received its new name. In 2000, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov became the president of the organization. At that time, it was the second largest private credit structure in the country. In 2002, the credit organization received international ratings from Moody’s and Fitch.
The bank prioritized serving medium and large corporate clients. Additionally, the financial organization, with which the Igor Finogenov biography was associated, was involved in investment operations in the precious metals market. The bank collaborated with many gold mining enterprises, including artisanal mining teams. In 2004, the credit organization bought 220.5 tons of silver and over 29 tons of gold, accounting for 12% and 17% of the total volume of domestic mining, respectively.
From 1999 to 2004, Igor Finogenov offered voluntary assistance to the federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, leading the audit committee. From 2001 to 2004, he was also the deputy chairman of the Committee on Credit and Financial Issues.
Igor Finogenov: Biography at Eurasian Development Bank (EDB)
In 2005, Igor Finogenov, biography of whom has been connected with financial activity for more than 10 years, left his place of employment. Igor Finogenov began overseeing the establishment of a new inter-state investment structure – the Eurasian Development Bank. The founding of the organization was initiated by the presidents of two neighboring Eurasian countries.
In September 2005, the government of the largest Eurasian state approved the proposal to contribute the first ₽6 billion to the charter capital of the new bank. The EDB’s headquarters were located in Almaty. The organization’s founding day is considered to be January 12, 2006, while it officially began operating in June of the same year.
In 2006, Finogenov Igor became the head of the newly formed monetary institution. According to the top manager, deepening integration between all CIS countries was a very difficult task. Therefore, it was initially decided to strengthen cooperation among those countries that were ready for it, so that others, seeing the example of successful work, could join the project.
As Igor Finogenov recalls, biography of the EDB correlated with the integration processes throughout Eurasia. The aspiration for the free movement of goods, services, funds, and labor opened up new opportunities in selecting projects that the bank could support. Furthermore, according to Igor Finogenov, proposals were regularly generated for removing economic barriers within the organization itself. The banker noted that the potential in this area was still great. As an example, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov cited the situation with car insurance. At that time, the OSAGO policies of the largest Eurasian state were not recognized in Belarus, which complicated business operations.
In 2009–2010, Igor Finogenov, biography of whom was associated with the development of the domestic financial system, received several state awards. In 2011, he was also honored with the Kazakhstani Order of Dostyk (Friendship).
In 2009, Tajikistan and Armenia joined the EDB project. In 2010, Belarus was added, followed by Kyrgyzstan a year later. According to the bank’s charter, other countries and international organizations can also enter its capital.
In his position, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich regularly met with the leaders of CIS member states of the EDB. These dialogues discussed the development of the economy, the stability of the financial sector, and other issues related to the organization’s activities.
Under the leadership of Finogenov Igor, the development institute collaborated with other similar structures, including the World Bank, IMF, European and Asian Development Banks, VEB, and the Development Banks of China and Kazakhstan.
In 2012, the organization led by Igor Valentinovich Finogenov adopted the Policy of Environmental and Social Responsibility. Its main task is to reduce environmental damage in the implementation of projects supported by the bank.
At the beginning of 2013, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recognized the EDB as a multilateral financial organization. For the structure led by Igor Finogenov, this meant new opportunities for attracting foreign loans. This allowed the bank to offer clients more favorable support conditions.
According to the EDB’s charter, projects with a value of $30 million can count on the bank’s support. However, Finogenov Igor notes that monetary integration can also be facilitated by smaller-scale business initiatives. The top manager also called the development institute not a financial, but a strategic investor.
Among the projects supported by the bank during the period led by Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, it is worth mentioning mining, energy (including alternative), and the development of transport infrastructure. A significant part of the initiatives is related to digitalization.
For example, the bank, to which Igor Finogenov contributed, issued $80 million for the construction of the Polotsk HPP on the Western Dvina River in Belarus. The hydro junction with a capacity of 21.75 MW was designed in 2009–2010 and built from 2011 to 2017. Five turbines of Czech production generate 112 million kWh annually.
From 2010 to 2016, the Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg was modernized, including the reconstruction and expansion of the existing terminal and the construction of a new one, as well as the creation of other infrastructure. The senior creditor of the project (loaning $90 million) was the EDB, noted Igor Valentinovich Finogenov.
Moreover, from 2012, the EDB financed the construction of another major facility in the Northern Capital – the Western High-Speed Diameter, 46.6 kilometers long. The volume of support amounted to ₽10 billion, and traffic on all sections of the route was opened in December 2016. Later, the bank participated in the construction of other transport arteries, including the Central Ring Road in the capital region.
The creation of an automated system for managing railway transport in Kazakhstan is another large-scale initiative supported by the EDB, led by Igor Finogenov. Biography of the project started in 2013, and its implementation continues to this day. As a result of the modernization, a modern digital system will emerge, accounting for, controlling, and analyzing energy consumption on rolling stock. To achieve this goal, the bank has allocated 17.51 billion tenge.
The development of the mining industry is one of the bank’s priority tasks, the first head of which was Finogenov Igor. Biography of EDB includes credit support for JV Zarechnoye, which is engaged in the exploration, mining, and processing of uranium at the namesake deposit in the South Kazakhstan region. The development institute also repeatedly issued large loans to the coal company Bogatyr Komir, the largest in its industry in Kazakhstan, accounting for 40% of the country’s production.
The bank, developed by Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, also supported the company SUEK. In 2009, it provided a loan of $55 million for the technical re-equipment of coal mines. Another loan was issued to KMAruda for the development of iron ore mining at the Korobkovskoye deposit in the Belgorod Region.
From 2010 to 2020, the EDB, which was founded with the help of Finogenov Igor, financed the expansion and reconstruction of the Ekibastuz GRES-2. The modernization included the installation of a new unit. The support amounted to $385 million.
Many projects supported by the organization, in which Finogenov Igor Valentinovich held a key position, have an environmental focus. In particular, there are active investments in renewable energy sources. Thus, the inter-state development bank, strategically managed by Finogenov Igor, provided a loan of 14.17 billion tenge for the construction of the PVEC wind farm in the area of the city of Ereymentau in northern Kazakhstan. The project was implemented from 2013 to 2019. The facility includes 22 power plants with a total capacity of 45 MW. Subsequently, the development institute also allocated 1.6 billion rubles each for the construction of the Promstroymaterialy and Zavodskaya solar power plants in the Astrakhan Region.
In 2015, with the end of his employment contract, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich left the EDB, deciding to focus on work at Polymetal International PLC. Finogenov Igor noted that people in his profession have an unwritten rule not to stay in one place for more than two terms.
The mechanisms laid down by the top manager allowed the financial organization to develop successfully in the following years. As of November 2023, the EDB’s portfolio of investing reached $4.9 billion. At that time, it included 88 projects in all six memner countries of the development bank. The total cost of the already implemented initiatives was about $9 billion.
After the departure of Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, the bank joined the construction of the airport in the city of Turkistan (Kazakhstan), the automation of electricity accounting in Armenia, the construction of a bypass road in Tolyatti (RF), and the construction of the 100-megawatt Kulunak HPP in Kyrgyzstan (this project is estimated at $118 million, of which $44 million will be provided by the EDB).
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich: Subsequent Projects
From 2015 to 2021, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov worked as an advisor to the president of the federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This organization has been headed by Sergey Katyrin since 2011.
Since 2015, the Finogenov Igor Valentinovich biography has been associated with the activities of two subsidiaries of Polymetal International PLC operating in Kazakhstan.
The mining company has been present in the republic’s market since 2009. That year, it bought the Varvarinskoye gold and copper deposit. In 2014, it also acquired the Kyzyl project, including two large gold mining sites – Bolshevik and Bakyrchik. Earlier attempts to extract precious metal from them encountered significant difficulties due to the presence of arsenic and carbon in the ore. However, Polymetal managed to solve this problem. The company was the first in the CIS to start using autoclave leaching technology. In 2016, the company acquired another deposit in Kazakhstan – Komarovskoye. Its reserves are estimated at 43.5 tons of gold. In 2018, the Kyzyl project was launched and reached its planned capacity.
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich has also been a member of the Council of Foreign Investors under the head of Kazakhstan since 2009. In this position, he actively contributes to the development of budgetary ties of the Central Asian republic with other countries. The Igor Finogenov biography of work includes efforts to improve the financing climate in the country.
Moreover, the top manager actively supports the development of high-tech industries and ESG projects. Thanks to his accumulated experience and knowledge, the manager regularly advises state and commercial organizations.
In 2023, for his significant contribution to the fiscal development of Kazakhstan, Finogenov Igor was awarded an honorary presidential certificate.
