Head of World Bank Group’s MIGA to Visit Latin America

Head of World Bank Group’s MIGA to Visit Latin America
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WASHINGTON, DC, February 15, 2008—Yukiko Omura, executive vice president of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a branch of the World Bank Group, kicks off a one-week visit to Latin America today.

From February 14-22, Omura will visit El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru, where she is set to meet with government officials and local business representatives. She will also visit a MIGA-supported waste-to-power project in El Salvador and a newly guaranteed toll road project in Costa Rica.

MIGA provides noncommercial risk insurance (or guarantees) for foreign direct investments (FDI) in its developing member countries, in order to promote economic growth and create jobs.

Latin America represents a significant part of MIGA’s overall portfolio—36 percent of all guarantees issued since 1988. Currently, the region accounts for $1.57 billion in outstanding guarantees, or 27 percent of the agency’s portfolio. Support for infrastructure investments—key to Latin America’s economic growth—totals 38 percent of MIGA’s portfolio within the region.

“Latin America is a very important region for MIGA,” says Omura. “We are committed to supporting our member countries by encouraging flows of developmentally sound FDI. In particular, we have an important role to play in mitigating the political risks that tend to inhibit large-scale infrastructure investments.”

In El Salvador, Omura will visit a MIGA-backed project that is selling carbon credits gained by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The agency’s $1.8 million in political risk insurance enabled the investor to raise funds from the carbon market, while guaranteeing reimbursement in the event that a harmful political event puts a stop to operations.

In Costa Rica, the MIGA team will visit the Autopistas del Sol project, which the agency recently supported with $152.96 million in guarantees. The project consists of the design, construction, and operation of portions of the toll road linking San José to Caldera. This 25-year concession will be the first highway concession in Costa Rica to successfully reach financial closing and begin operations. The project is expected to reduce transportation costs by reducing travel time by 1.5 hours for those who travel the full length of the corridor.

For information:
Angie Gentile, agentile@worldbank.org, 202.473.3509
Farah Hussain, fhussain@worldbank.org, 202.473.2540