Washington, D.C., April 25, 2002
—On April 24, 2002, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched a US dollar 1.0 billion issue under its Global Medium Term Note program. The 5-year notes, priced today to yield 44.5 basis points over the benchmark US Treasury bond, carry a coupon of 4.75 percent per annum (payable semi-annually) and an issue price of 99.683 percent. The proceeds of the issue will be swapped into US dollar floating rate funds for general operational purposes. The Joint Lead Managers are UBS Warburg and Salomon Smith Barney and Co-lead managers are HSBC, BNP Paribas, Daiwa, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch International, Morgan Stanley & Co. International Ltd., and Nomura International plc.
This is the third successive year in which IFC has launched its US dollar benchmark issue in global form and brings IFC’s market borrowings for the fiscal year 2002, which began on July 1, 2001, to about US$3.7 billion. The issue was more than twice oversubscribed and was placed with more than 80 accounts globally. It achieved equal distribution in Asia, the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
IFC’s mission (www.ifc.org) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets,
and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in
1956 through the close of the last fiscal year, IFC has committed more than $31 billion of its own
funds and arranged $20 billion in syndications for 2,636 companies in 140 developing countries. Its committed portfolio was $14.3 billion.