Maputo, January 10, 2005
— Mr. Peter Woicke, World Bank Managing Director and Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will visit Mozambique, January 11-13, 2005.
The visit underlines the importance and continuing commitment that IFC attaches to its partnership with Mozambique. Mr. Woicke’s program will include meetings with the Prime Minister and a number of ministers and consultations with local private sector representatives, donors, and IFC clients. Mr. Woicke will be accompanied by Mr. Richard Ranken, IFC director for Africa.
These meetings will give Mr. Woicke an opportunity to discuss economic and social developmental priorities for the country and to explore how the business environment can be improved for increased private sector development.
IFC’s strategic priorities for Mozambique include improving the business and financial environment for micro, small and medium enterprises through donor-funded technical assistance.
IFC recently made an investment in Roundabout Outdoor Ltd. for the construction of playpumps in Mozambican primary schools. Playpumps are innovative, low-tech devices that serve as both children’s merry-go-rounds and sources of rural water supply. In addition, IFC successfully concluded a mandate advising the Government of Mozambique on the selection of a coal developer for the Moatize Coal Deposit in Tete Province. The winning bidder, a consortium headed by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) of Brazil, bid $122.8 million for the rights to explore and develop the coal deposit.
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 FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
In FY04, IFC committed 25 projects in 12 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region for a total amount of $407 million. IFC’s total committed portfolio for the region as of June 30 was about $1.8 billion.
