WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 2--The International Finance Corporation announced today that Mr. Edward Nassim, currently Director of IFC's Europe Department, will relocate to Moscow to serve as Resident Director with operational authority to develop and carry out IFC's program in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus and Georgia. Mr. Nassim's move marks the first time in IFC's forty-year history that a Director has been stationed outside of Washington.
"IFC's expansion will allow the Corporation to more effectively implement its investment and privatization work in the region," said Mr. Nassim. "We have seen a substantial increase in investor interest, particularly in Russia. In fact, our pipeline of prospective investments in Russia is significantly larger than our existing portfolio. We plan to be more actively engaged in investments focused on the restructuring and modernization of the region's industries. We also will continue to follow up on our successful work in the area of privatization of land and businesses."
IFC has been active in the region since 1991 and has about 430 staff on the ground in: Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Rostov, Kirov and Volgograd in Russia; Kiev, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zhitomir and the Republic of Crimea in Ukraine; and Minsk, Baranovichi, Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Lida, Orsha and Vitebsk in Belarus. Most of IFC's staff are assisting privatization efforts with funding support from the British Know How Fund. In Russia, approximately 230 staff are working on land privatization and farm reorganization initiatives which have so far led to the reorganization of 174 farms with 70,000 members covering 600,000 hectares. In Ukraine, approximately 150 staff are working on mass privatization and land privatization, where in March, 1996, IFC land reform efforts resulted in the first legal model for agricultural land privatization in Ukraine. In Belarus, nearly 70 staff are providing small-scale privatization and small business support.
IFC's investment activities in the region have accelerated in recent years. The Corporation currently has investment commitments outstanding to Russian enterprises totaling US$235 million and commitments outstanding to Ukrainian enterprises totaling US$20 million. Mr. Nassim will focus on accelerating these activities and expanding IFC's initiatives to Armenia, Belarus and Georgia.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries.
