International Finance Corporation loans €10million to Montenegro's Montenegrobanka to support SMEs through downturn
17th June 2009
The Internation Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, today said it will provide a €10 million loan to NLB Montenegrobanka that will enable the bank to extend loans to small and medium enterprises in Montenegro.
IFC’s investment will help address the limited access to finance for Montenegro’s small businesses, a problem exacerbated by the global financial crisis. This is the first IFC investment in Montenegro’s banking sector since independence was proclaimed in 2006.
“We are pleased to consolidate our strategic partnership with IFC through this transaction,” said Črtomir Mesarič, CEO of NLB Montenegrobanka. “With IFC’s loan, we can increase our support to small and medium enterprises, confirming our traditional commitment to them and further expanding our role in SME financing in Montenegro.”
Shahbaz Mavaddat, IFC Director for Southern Europe and Central Asia, said, “NLB Montenegrobanka became IFC’s main platform for scaling up financing for Montenegro’s smaller businesses. We are pleased to extend this loan and support the bank under difficult conditions in international financial markets. Through this investment, we are also demonstrating our support for and confidence in the long- term prospects of Montenegro and its banking sector.”
The loan represents the first IFC investment under a regional partnership with the NLB Group of Slovenia, which owns an 88.11 percent stake in NLB Montegrobanka. IFC will consider further investments in selected subsidiaries of the NLB Group in the region, particularly in lesser developed economies of former Yugoslavia such as FYR Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
International Finance Corporation to invest $18m in sustainable forestry in Tanzania
16th June 2009
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced that it will invest $18 million to help Green Resources plant 8,000 hectares of forest in Tanzania, implement international environmental standards, and increase productivity and energy efficiency.
IFC’s investment includes a $10 million senior loan and an $8 million subordinated loan. The plantation and forest products company will plant forests on grassland and deforested areas, modernize sawmill and wood harvesting equipment, and build a 15 megawatt heat and power plant fuelled by wood waste from its own and neighboring sawmills.
“Forestation is vital to improving social and economic conditions in Africa,” said Mads Asprem, CEO of Green Resources. “Working with IFC will enable Green Resources to adhere to the highest environmental standards while addressing strong demand for timber products in East Africa.”
Green Resources will generate carbon credits from its operations and sell them directly to buyers from developed countries. Credits will be generated by the new plantations and power plant, which uses recycled wood, eliminating methane emissions from decomposing wood waste. Surplus capacity will be sold to Tanzania’s national grid. Green Resources will sequester roughly 700,000 additional tons of carbon emissions annually from its operations.
Green Resources will also obtain certification from the Forest Stewardship Council that its plantations in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda are environmentally and socially sustainable, offer favorable working conditions, and adhere to the highest international standards.