Washington, D.C./Tbilisi, Georgia, February 17, 2015—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today issued a 30 million Georgian lari bond – equivalent to approximately $15 million – to support Georgia’s capital markets. This is IFC’s first local currency issuance in Georgia.
The bond, named Iveria after an ancient kingdom based in present-day Eastern
Georgia
, is part of a 200 million lari bond program and creates a pricing benchmark for future IFC issuances in Georgia’s domestic capital markets. Under the program, IFC can issue lari-denominated bonds when market opportunities align with the funding needs of the country’s private sector.
“The IFC Iveria bond is an essential part of IFC’s strategy to support Georgia’s capital market development,” said Jingdong Hua, IFC Vice President and Treasurer. “Deep, liquid capital markets are the foundation for sustained economic growth because they efficiently channel investment to key sectors such as infrastructure and housing, which in turn generate jobs and growth.”
Giorgi Kadagidze, the President of the National Bank of Georgia, said: “The IFC
bond marks an important milestone in the partnership between Georgia and IFC. It signals a strong vote of confidence in the outlook for Georgia amid market volatility. We hope it will pave the way for other high quality issuers to come to Georgia’s domestic capital markets.”
Galt & Taggart, the wholly-owned investment arm of Bank of Georgia, acted as the arranger for the bond. IFC has issued bonds in 16 local currencies, including the Armenian dram, Brazilian real, Chinese renminbi, Indian rupee, and Nigerian naira.
Georgia became an IFC member in 1995. Since then, IFC has invested more than $810 million in 60 projects across various sectors and supported regional projects developed in the country. IFC has also implemented a number of advisory projects focused on the development of the private sector.
IFC Iveria Bond Summary Terms and Conditions:
Issue amount: 30 million Georgian lari (approximately $15 million)
Pricing date: February 17, 2015
Settlement date: February 17, 2015
Maturity date: February 17, 2017
Coupon: 6.924%
Coupon Frequency: Semi-annual
Repayment: Bullet on maturity date
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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