ETC SME Local Currency Programme : Supporting capital markets legal and regulatory reforms in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (project assessment, coordination and management)

Item Description:

The Early Transition Countries (ETC) SME Local Currency Programme Technical Cooperation (TC) Framework (the “Framework”) is being implemented by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “EBRD” or the “Bank”) within its Local Currency and Capital Markets Development (LC2) Initiative. The Framework will support necessary capital market reform programmes and address local capital market laws and other legal and regulatory structures to facilitate local currency funding by the EBRD and others in ETC under EBRD’s SME Local Currency Programme (LCYP). The Bank-wide LC2 Initiative aims to identify and support sequenced reforms and policies in EBRD’s countries of operations (COOs) that contribute to local currency and local capital market development.

The Framework, in support of the SME LCY Programme, covers 5 areas with TC work:
1) Reforming the legal and regulatory environment to support modern capital market activities, instruments, and infrastructure.
2) Providing capacity building programmes for central banks, market participants and regulators.
3) Developing capital market products by providing a feasibility study, implementation roadmaps, and education on the new or uncommon instruments such as corporate bonds, covered bonds, basic securitizations, repos, basic derivatives (e.g. FX or interest rate swaps), and equity listing support programs for SMEs.
4) Reforming capital market infrastructure, covering exchange, clearing, settlement, and depository entities, as well as relevant market infrastructure areas of the central bank (e.g. money market systems, government bond trading platforms and registries, and payment and settlement systems).
5) Developing the local and international institutional investor base including pension funds.

The legal and regulatory reforms are critical in many of EBRD COOs to build a resilient financial sector and support a vibrant local capital market. Although there are basic legal and regulatory frameworks for capital markets in place in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, substantial progress can be still made for a sound and effective legal and regulatory environment that can further lead to market integrity, growth, investor participation and capital development.

In order to develop and coordinate constructive legal and regulatory reform plans for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan the Bank intends to engage an individual expert (the Consultant) with extensive legal and regulatory expertise in the areas of capital market instruments and international standards of capital market environment.

Assignment Description: The EBRD intends to engage a legal and regulatory expert to support EBRD in its activities aimed at the capital markets developments and improving legal and regulatory frameworks in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with the focus on assessing and identifying the reform needs, scoping such reforms and ensuring follow up during implementation. The actual implementation will be done by local legal consultants to be engaged by EBRD.

More specifically, the Consultant’s scope of work will include:
– Initial assessment of the legal and regulatory environments in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and other countries in Central Asia (if required) to identify priorities and develop recommendations for capital market development, especially for money markets (derivatives and repos), government debt markets, corporate bonds, equities and the right of foreign entities including International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to raise funds in the local markets;
– Liaison with the relevant authorities, EBRD, various stakeholders in these countries to design and scope Technical Assistance (TC) projects and prepare roadmaps for their implementation;
– Support to EBRD in procuring consultants for approved TC Projects;
– Management of the TC projects designed by the Consultant in consultation with the EBRD through monitoring and tracking their progress, reviewing the quality of work, obtaining feedback from participants and providing regular project status reports to EBRD;
– Assessment of progress for each country and preparation of progress and completion reports for the agreed and implemented TC projects; recommendations for further actions.

Assignment Duration: The assignment is expected to last 12 months and maybe extended subject to availability of funding, consultant performance and EBRD requirements.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: The Consultant’s input is estimated to be 100 working days. The exact budget will be negotiated with the selected Consultant.
The consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the Bank’s special status as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.

Funding Source: Japan-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.

Consultant Profile: The consultant will be an individual expert with the following experience and expertise:
· Preferably 15 + years of experience of working at a top tier law firm or an in-house legal team at leading financial services institutions on securities laws and regulations
· Preferably 10 + years of experience of working with financial market regulators and providing legal support for Ministries of Finance
· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to Interact at all levels, building strong relationships internally and externally
· Client service-focused, with exemplary client service ethic and commitment
· Adept at working within complex multi-functional, multi-national project environments
· Advanced organisational skills and diplomacy
· Resilient, adaptable, autonomous and highly credible
· Drive to achieve at a high level while working as a consultant
· Experience in policy and reform work, preferably in EBRD countries of operation
· Project management and assessment and analytical skills.

Submission Requirements: Interested consultants are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest. In order to determine the qualifications and competence of individuals seeking to be shortlisted (firms may propose services of individual experts), the information submitted should include the following:
· Cover letter (maximum 2 pages) summarising how he/she satisfies the requirements as defined above under Consultant Profile;
· CV which should be detailed and include full descriptions of roles responsibilities carried out;
· Completed Consultant Declaration Form and Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link: http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc
The above information should not exceed 25 to 50 pages excluding CVs.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through eSelection.

Notes:
1. The selection will normally be made from responses to this notification only. Consultants will not be asked to submit a proposal. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected from a shortlist and be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
2. Consulting firms (proposing individuals) and individuals may apply. Consulting firms nominating an individual expert shall submit a complete individual application for each expert via eSelection. Single applications for a number of experts containing various CVs may result in rejection of such application and all concerned experts.

3. Depending on the quality of applications received the EBRD may invite the highest-ranked (up to 6) candidates for interviews to be conducted via Skype or a conference call. The interview is expected to take approximately 1 hour and costs are not reimbursable by EBRD.

4. The evaluation criteria are as follows:

Consultant’s project legal / regulatory experience with leading financial services institutions on securities laws and regulations – 40%
b) Consultant’s project experience working with financial market regulators and financial authorities, such as Ministries of Finance – 30%
c) Consultant’s experience in Central Asia and/or emerging capital markets environments – 15%
d) Communication and interpersonal skills, ability to interface at all levels, building strong relationships (based on interviews) – 15%.

http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/procurement/pn-67334.html