MIGA Partners with Austrian Finance and Guarantee Agency

MIGA Partners with Austrian Finance and Guarantee Agency

Washington, DC, October 2, 2000 — The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, and Austria’s Finance and Guarantee Corporation, Finanzierungsgarantie-Gesellschaft m.b.H. (FGG), today announced a strategic alliance to encourage Austrian companies to invest in developing countries.

The two signed a Memorandum of Understanding saying they will cooperate in providing political risk insurance to Austrian companies for their investments in developing countries. Special attention will be paid to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The agreement is one of several between the two organizations, which officially began their partnership in October 1998 when FGG provided funds for the Central and Eastern European deployment of PrivatizationLink, MIGA’s award-winning online service that hooks up investors with privatization opportunities in developing countries. FGG has provided subsequent funding to expand this service.

"This agreement demonstrates our continued willingness to form partnerships with other important players in the market, as well as to find innovative ways to serve the interests of investors and host countries," said MIGA’s Executive Vice President, Motomichi Ikawa. "It also emphasizes the priority we place on promoting projects by small and medium enterprises."

The effort is the product of a European Outreach Program launched by MIGA last year to foster a deeper understanding of its services among European investors. Discussions began with FGG in May 2000.

For information:
Carmen Nonay, cnonay@worldbank.org,
t. 41-31-312-0870
Moina Varkie,
mvarkie@worldbank.org,
t. 202-473-6170

For more on MIGA, visit www.miga.org.
To find out more about FGG, go to www.fgg.at.