World Bank Group Agencies Collaborate to Boost Investment in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Areas
World Bank Group Agencies Collaborate to Boost Investment in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Areas
Washington, D.C., June 22, 2012—The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), members of the World Bank Group, are collaborating to mobilize investment into fragile and conflict-affected areas of the world, enabling eligible commercial lenders participating in IFC B-loan syndications to obtain MIGA’s political risk insurance for war and civil disturbance.
IFC’s B-loan program is the oldest syndicated lending program among multilateral development banks and an important tool for mobilizing capital to serve development needs. Lenders participating in the B-loan program will now be able to seek the added protection of MIGA’s coverage in the event of a default related to war or civil disturbance.
About 1.5 billion people live in fragile and conflict-affected areas. Mobilizing investment into these areas is a priority for IFC and MIGA. IFC provides immediate and long-term support to rebuild the private sector and promote entrepreneurship and MIGA offers coverage in countries where other insurers are often not willing or unable to go.
“Conflict and instability magnify the challenges of development in many countries, creating an urgent need for jobs and investment," said IFC EVP and CEO Lars Thunell. "Our collaboration with MIGA will benefit IFC clients in these areas, mobilizing greater investment to support private sector development where it is needed most.”
MIGA EVP Izumi Kobayashi said: "We’re pleased to be able to offer war and civil disturbance coverage to IFC’s B-loan participants. This will give lenders more protection in challenging environments and encourage private sector investment that leads to sustainable development and growth."
This collaboration is occurring under the IFC/MIGA Business Development Partnership, which encourages the institutions to work together for the benefit of World Bank Group clients, particularly in member countries of the World Bank’s fund for the poorest—the International Development Association, or IDA—and in frontier regions.
In particular, the partnership seeks to leverage complementary products offered by each institution to more effectively advance private sector development in challenging markets.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About MIGA
MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment into emerging economies to support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. MIGA fulfills this mandate by offering political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors and lenders, covering risks including expropriation, breach of contract, currency transfer restriction, war and civil disturbance, and non-honoring of sovereign financial obligations. For more information, visit www.miga.org
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In Washington, D.C.:
Mallory Saleson (MIGA)
Phone: (202) 473-0844
E-mail: msaleson@worldbank.org
Rebecca Post (MIGA)
Phone: (202) 473-1964
E-mail: rpost@worldbank.org
Alexandra Klopfer (IFC)
Phone: (202) 473-4645
E-mail: aklopfer@ifc.org