IFC Investment to Boost Access to Finance for Infrastructure Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean
IFC Press Release, 15-Jul-08

Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that it will provide debt financing and acquire an equity stake in Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura (CIFI), a nonbank financial institution that funds small and midsize infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. IFC’s investment will boost access to finance for such projects, helping develop infrastructure in the region.

IFC’s investment consists of a $20 million loan and a $9.9 million equity investment. IFC will acquire existing shares from such shareholders as the Inter-American Investment Corporation, which will retain shareholding in CIFI, and the Republic Finance and Merchant Bank. Other institutions, including Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid (Caja Madrid), Cordiant Capital, Caixa Geral de Depositos, Intesa Sanpaolo, and BPD Bank, will provide additional loans totaling $48.5 million.

Roldan Trujillo, General Manager and CEO of CIFI, said, “We are pleased to welcome IFC as an investor and shareholder in our institution, alongside other multilateral financial institutions and leading European and regional commercial banks. We believe that IFC’s presence will be important to supporting our growth strategy.”

Atul Mehta, IFC Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said, “We are delighted to partner with CIFI, which has a complementary focus to that of IFC for the development of infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean. CIFI has developed an impressive track record by providing incremental long-term financing for small and medium infrastructure projects.”

Jacques Rogozinski, General Manager of the Inter-American Investment Corporation, said, “We are proud to see how CIFI has outgrown our expectations since we jointly created it in 2001 with Caja Madrid. We feel our mission has been partially accomplished and we are confident that CIFI, with the strong support from the IFC, will achieve new and bigger milestones. IIC and IFC share the same commitment to the development of smaller private companies in the region and we look forward to developing a strong relationship with IFC to meet this objective.”