IFC’s Private Enterprise Partnership for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (PEP) has launched a program to provide leasing expertise, training and consultations throughout all of IFC – the L.E.A.S.E. Program. The program is launched in response to growing demand for PEP leasing development expertise from both IFC headquarters and field operations. The objective of the L.E.A.S.E program is to provide regional facilities with access to PEP’s experience in designing and implementing successful leasing development projects, as well as to provide relevant training for IFC Business Development Officers and IFC investment department staff.
On May 13-19, to mark the launch of the program, the IFC-China Project Development Facility and PEP organized a study tour to Russia for a delegation from the National People’s Congress of China. The objective of the visit was to familiarize delegation members with the benefits of leasing and to show them IFC’s experience in designing and implementing leasing development projects first hand.
During the Chinese delegation’s visit, the L.E.A.S.E. program organized a training workshop that covered the key aspects of leasing transactions. Delegation members also met real leasing market players: representatives of leasing companies, lessees, and companies involved in evaluating the leasing market and its environment. The Chinese government officials discussed the major legislative issues related to leasing with their counterparts from the State Duma of the Russian Federation, who had been closely involved in drafting Russia’s key legislative act regulating the industry, the
Law on Leasing
,
in cooperation with IFC.
The head of the delegation, Mr. Guo Shuyan, remarked, “Of all the countries we have visited, Russia is closest to the country we are representing. This trip has increased our understanding of leasing as a market mechanism, and as a key input for development of industry and of economic growth. Our visit was fruitful, and I think mutually beneficial, and will hopefully lead to future cooperation and additional exchange of this and other successful experience.”
At the meeting with the Chinese delegation, Christian Grossmann, the Director of the Private Enterprise Partnership, noted the importance of leasing for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. He also stressed: “Through the successful development of leasing markets in Russia and other CIS countries, PEP has accumulated a wealth of experience which it has now started to offer to other technical assistance facilities in other regions.”
PEP has long been an IFC leader in delivering successful leasing development projects. PEP launched its first leasing project in Russia in 1997. The project worked with government officials to push through vital changes to legislation such as the Tax and Civil Codes, and helped to stimulate the growth of the local leasing market by providing training and consultations on leasing to over 2,600 individuals and 2,100 companies. While the project was active, from 1997 to 2002, the number of leasing market participants grew from 137 to 550, and the value of leasing financing quadrupled to $1.7 billion in 2001.
Leasing has become one of PEP’s core technical assistance products, and the Russia Leasing Development project model has already been successfully replicated across the region, to countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and, most recently, Mongolia.
The
International Finance Corporation
is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. IFC coordinates its activities with the other institutions of the World Bank Group but is legally and financially independent. Its 178 member countries provide its share capital and collectively determine its policies.
The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition 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 FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY05 was $19.3 billion for its own account and $5.3 billion held for participants in loan syndications. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
