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Washington D.C., June 13, 2005—
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will provide a $14.5 million loan to Centro Medico Puerta de Hierro, a new medical complex in the town of Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico. The new complex will consist of an ambulatory surgical center and a general tertiary care hospital. It will be the first health service facility in the Guadalajara metropolitan area specializing in ambulatory surgery.
Atul Mehta, director of IFC’s Latin America and Caribbean Region, said, “IFC’s financing is an important vote of confidence for the private sector’s participation in Mexico’s healthcare system. This operation will contribute to the development of a high-quality healthcare provider in Guadalajara, the second-largest city in Mexico and the main business center in the western part of the country.”
Guy Ellena, director of IFC’s Health and Education Department, noted that, “IFC welcomes the opportunity to help Centro Medico raise long-term financing. There is considerable growth potential for the private healthcare sector in Mexico, as income level rises and pressures on the public health systems continue mounting.” He added, “The establishment of a new-high quality provider of health services will strengthen the capacity of the Guadalajara metropolitan area health sector and increase access to quality medical care. This is IFC’s fourth investment in the Mexican health sector, and we hope to continue building upon this experience.”
Rodolfo Acosta, CEO of Centro Medico, noted that “with this new complex, we aim to meet the growing demand for ambulatory care, which is a more cost-effective way of treating many medical conditions. In addition to providing high-quality services to Guadalajara’s residents, we hope to become a point of reference for the region.”
In fiscal year 2004 (July 2003-June 2004), IFC provided $707 million in financing (including $259 million in syndications) to the Mexican private sector. This was the largest volume of IFC’s financing provided for a single country in the year. The FY04 projects covered IFC’s priority areas, such as infrastructure, manufacturing, the financial sector, and the social sector. As of March 2005, the outstanding balance of IFC's portfolio in Mexico stood at $833 million, or 6.43 percent of IFC’s overall outstanding.
IFC's mission (
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.
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