Washington, D.C., November 18, 2014
--IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, became the first institution to issue a triple-A rated bond in Costa Rica's domestic markets, raising 5,000 million colones, or approximately $10 million, for private sector investment in emerging markets, including in Costa Rica.
The IFC Irazú bond has a five-year maturity and was sold entirely to domestic pension funds. The bond has a net yield of 7.17 percent. IFC will invest proceeds of the bonds to support private sector development in emerging markets.
"Deep, liquid capital markets are the foundations for long-term growth because they efficiently intermediate funds in an economy and connect savings with investment needs," said IFC Vice President and Treasurer Jingdong Hua. "IFC is committed to supporting the development of Costa Rica's capital markets."
"IFC's Irazú bond provides a high quality alternative for institutional investors,” Hector Maggi, General Manager of the Pension Operator of the Costa Rican Social Insurance Fund (CCSS). “We hope that the bonds will pave the way for other high quality issuances in Costa Rica's domestic capital markets."
IFC supports capital market development by issuing local currency bonds; offering customized structured, securitized and derivate products to enable private sector companies to access capital markets; and providing advice to promote market-friendly regulatory frameworks. In Latin America and the Caribbean, IFC has issued local currency bonds in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Peru.
Since Costa Rica became a member of IFC in 1956, IFC has invested $685.8 million in the country’s private sector, including $99.7 million in syndications. We operate in sectors such as infrastructure, with a particular focus on renewable energy, as well as in financial markets, in order to facilitate access to finance for small and medium enterprises. Through our advisory programs with the private sector and the government, we support energy efficiency initiatives as well as efforts to improve Costa Rica’s investment climate and promote new and existing businesses.
Scotia Valores S.A. and Finanzas Corporativas de Centro America are the lead arrangers for the bonds.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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