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Kathmandu, Nepal, April 11, 2013
— IFC Vice President and Treasurer Jingdong Hua today said that private sector development is key to supporting long-term growth and poverty reduction in Nepal. Hua is visiting Nepal for the first time as VP and Treasurer of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.
Hua met Finance Minister Shanker Prasad Koirala and other government representatives to discuss IFC’s support to the development of domestic capital markets. He also met with business leaders with an aim to help boost investor confidence, explore ways to support small businesses and increase private sector investment in large-scale hydropower, transport, and other infrastructure projects in the country.
“As Nepal continues on its path of stability and growth, IFC is committed to supporting private sector development and create opportunity,” Hua said. “An important element of this agenda is to develop domestic capital markets. They help create access to long-term, local-currency finance for large infrastructure projects and for small and medium enterprises, the key drivers of jobs and growth.”
IFC supports local capital markets by issuing local currency bonds, often paving the way for other issuers. IFC also provides local currency finance to meet the needs of the private sector. IFC is keen to work in Nepal to help promote local capital markets and local currency finance, including a proposal to establish a local currency bond to help attract both local and foreign investment into the country. This could be a confidence booster and a positive signal to a market like Nepal that is serious about growing its economy, despite the transition.
Together with IBRD, IFC is also keen to develop Nepal's hydropower potential to alleviate the severe power shortage in the country. In the past five years, IFC has committed $48 million to power, transport, financial market, microfinance, and trade finance projects in Nepal. IFC also provides advisory services to strengthen business regulations, increase access to finance, support development of smaller enterprises, and facilitate creation of public-private partnerships in infrastructure.
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, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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