Washington, D.C., July 20, 2004
—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has agreed to provide a financing package of $5 million to the Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia, one of country’s major financial institutions. The transaction encourages the development of a stronger private banking sector and industry best practices through a formerly state-owned institution.
IFC will provide a $1.5 million equity investment along with a $3.5 million subordinated loan to help strengthen the TDB’s capital base. IFC’s investment will be supported by parallel financing from the Asian Development Bank.
“There is presently little private investor interest in Mongolia’s financial sector, so IFC’s investment offers not just capital but a vote of confidence for the Mongolian banking system,” said Jyrki Koskelo, IFC’s director of Global Financial Markets. Javed Hamid, regional director for East Asia and the Pacific, added, “IFC is proud to lend its support to financial institutions like TDB that strive for high standards and seek to lead the market by adopting best practices.”
TDB was established by the government in October 1990 and in December 2002 it sold 76 percent of TDB’s shares. The consortium that took control of the bank included Gerald Metals, in the United States of America, and Banca Commerciale Lugano, in Switzerland. Institutional & Government Advisory Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of ING in the Netherlands, was appointed as manager of TDB.
TDB’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Teunissen said, “Many factors are coming together to help build TDB into a trade and commercial bank. IFC’s vote of confidence is now added to the contribution that ING has made to strengthening the bank’s credit and risk management following privatization. It strengthens our ability to serve customers locally and internationally.” TDB President and Deputy CEO S. Monhbat added, “The Mongolian economy is growing and becoming stronger. IFC’s investment signals the progress that has been made in economic reforms. We hope IFC’s participation will encourage further private sector development in Mongolia.”
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 FY03, IFC has committed more than $37 billion of its own funds and arranged $22 billion in syndications for 2,990 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY03 was $16.8 billion for its own account and $6.6 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
