Washington, D.C., September 27, 2004 —
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, signed a loan agreement with Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (OEH) for a facility of $50 million to support its expansion in emerging markets.
The facility will finance the company’s acquisition and refurbishing of medium-size hotel and tourism projects in emerging markets over the next three years. The loans under the facility will be provided to OEH’s subsidiaries, and the first to benefit will be Inversiones Malecon De La Reserva S.A., which owns and operates the Miraflores Park Hotel in Lima, Peru.
OEH, an existing IFC client, is a hotel and leisure group that owns and operates about 40 tourism properties across 17 countries. OEH has a significant presence in Europe and North America, and it has started pursuing more aggressive growth in emerging markets, where it sees opportunities to expand and diversify its portfolio by acquiring or developing quality assets.
Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC’s director for Global Manufacturing and Services, noted,
“This investment fits well with IFC’s strategy to support and encourage companies in the travel and leisure sector that have a proven track record, in order to speed up their investments in emerging markets. OEH will bring strong operational capacity, a solid brand name, and high environmental and social standards to the emerging markets where it will invest.”
Simon Sherwood, president of OEH, said, “IFC’s investment is important for OEH, as it will allow us to pursue projects in emerging markets. Through this investment specifically tailored to OEH’s needs in emerging markets, our relationship with IFC will strengthen, providing the basis for long-term cooperation in future projects.”
The mission of IFC (
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, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY03 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
