MIGA Seeks to Facilitate Investment into West Bank and Gaza

MIGA Seeks to Facilitate Investment into West Bank and Gaza

WASHINGTON, DC, May 22, 2008—In remarks delivered to the Palestinian Investment Conference held today in Bethlehem, World Bank Group Managing Director, Juan José Daboub, announced plans to expand the West Bank and Gaza Political Risk Insurance Trust Fund, administered by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

The trust fund was established in 1998 to help increase flows of foreign direct investment into the Territories.  In recent years, the fund has been mostly inactive due to difficult market conditions.

MIGA has been working intensively with the fund’s donors—the European Investment Bank, government of Japan, and the Palestinian Authority—in recent months to expand the fund’s reach and applicability.  In April 2008, MIGA’s Executive Vice President, Yukiko Omura, met with the Palestinian Authority and local business representatives to discuss the fund.

“By redefining the fund and making it more relevant to current conditions, MIGA will be able to facilitate new foreign direct investment into the Palestinian Territories,” said Nabil Fawaz, MIGA’s Global Head of Agribusiness, Manufacturing, and Services.

Among the key changes to the trust fund envisaged by donors is the expansion of eligibility to include local investors, an increase in the fund’s underwriting capacity from $20 to $30 million, and the coverage of projects with investments of less than three years. Also being considered is the possibility of a full-time trust fund representative located in the West Bank.

MIGA has a strong record of facilitating investment in environments affected by conflict. To date, MIGA has supported over 150 projects with guarantees totaling nearly $3 billion in 23 conflict-affected countries.

To find out more about the existing fund, visit www.miga.org/documents/westbankgazaTF.pdf. For more on the World Bank’s work in the Territories, visit go.worldbank.org/OM4QIEVVE0.

For information:
Angie Gentile, agentile@worldbank.org, 202.473.3509
Rebecca Post, rpost@worldbank.org, 202.473.1964