Washington, D.C., July 5, 2012—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and ING Bank N.V. announced the launch of a $500 million facility to reduce the risk of food and energy shortages and help maintain stable prices for buyers in emerging markets.
The facility under the IFC Critical Commodities Finance Program will enable the continued trade of crops, as well as energy imports, needed to enhance labor productivity, maintain economic growth, and sustain poverty reduction in developing countries.
IFC and ING will each contribute $250 million to the risk-sharing facility to support the global trade of agricultural and energy commodities by ING clients in emerging markets. In particular, the facility will include support for agricultural commodity exports from Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe.
“This facility will enable ING to continue to support trade in emerging markets by providing much-needed liquidity to our clients,” said Juultje van der Wijk, Managing Director, Global Head Trade Finance Services at ING Bank N.V. “ING welcomes IFC’s intervention during the financial crisis to accommodate the world’s financing needs of commodity trade.”
Georgina Baker, Director, Global Trade and Supply Chain Solutions, IFC, said: “Under this program, IFC aims to improve the flow of energy and agricultural commodities in the developing world at a time when global trade and commodity finance is increasingly scarce. We are pleased to partner with ING Bank, one of the market leaders in the field of commodity finance.”
Launched in January 2012, the Critical Commodities Finance Program finances exports and imports of agricultural commodities and inputs globally, and imports of energy into the world’s poorest countries. The program helps improve food security for the world’s poorest—who tend to be hit hardest by rising food and energy prices. Using a risk-sharing approach to extend financing to banks and their corporate clients, such as commodity traders, the initiative is expected to mobilize about $18 billion in funding through 2014.
About ING Bank
ING is one of the top five European banks by net profit and is the 15th largest bank by total assets and market capitalization. In the field of trade and commodity finance, ING is one of the top-tier banks in the world, operating out of 25 countries. Apart from its Western European core markets, ING has an especially strong presence in Europe and Central Asia. ING offers a wide range of trade- and commodity-related financial services to small and medium enterprises, mid-corporate, and corporate clients via financial institutions. ING brings its trade finance expertise to more than 1,300 core clients that play a critical role in the global commodity trade flows.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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