Bangkok, March 16 -- The International Finance Corporation will provide a US$180 million loan and structured U.S. commercial paper facility to Finance One Public Company Limited, Thailand's premier finance company based in Bangkok. This will be the largest financing IFC has ever arranged for a financial institution. The Facility's novel structure, which was developed by IFC, has enabled the Corporation to mobilize financing for a client from the U.S. commercial paper market for the first time. Finance One will be the first private sector Thai entity to obtain funding from the U.S. commercial paper market. The financing consists of a six-year US$30 million loan for IFC's own account and a loan for the account of participants in the form of a three-year US$150 million structured U.S. commercial paper facility. The U.S. commercial paper facility is being provided through Finance One Funding Corporation, a U.S.-based special purpose vehicle which will issue commercial paper in the U.S. market, fully supported by
a three-year irrevocable letter of credit provided by Credit Suisse. IFC and Credit Suisse have jointly syndicated participations in the letter of credit to 21 commercial banks. This is the first time IFC has syndicated participations in a letter of credit. Lehman Brothers is the USCP arranger and Bankers Trust is the B loan agent and the Depositary for the U.S. commercial paper program of Finance One Funding Corporation. Commercial paper will be issued through a panel of three dealers: Lehman Brothers, Citicorp Securities, and Merrill Lynch. "This transaction represents a significant step for companies in emerging markets to access the international capital markets," said Daniel F. Adams, IFC's Vice President for Capital Markets. "It reflects IFC's commitment to promoting the financial sector in emerging markets and also establishes a useful mechanism for such companies to diversify their sources of funding." IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan fi
nancing to private sector projects in developing countries. Over the last 35 years IFC has invested and arranged financing of about US$1.5 billion for Thailand.
