Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2012—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today accepted awards from
KangaNews
, a leading capital markets publication in the Asia Pacific, recognizing our track record as a bond issuer in the region’s capital markets. IFC issues bonds to raise funds for investments in the private sector in emerging markets.
Every year
KangaNews
invites investors, issuers, and banks to vote for the best institutions in the Australian and New Zealand capital markets. This year, more than 200 market participating firms cast their votes, and IFC earned two awards.
IFC's 1.5 billion Australian dollar “Kangaroo” bond, issued in 2011, received the “Supranational, Sovereign, and Agency Bond Deal of the Year” award. We also received the “Kauri Issuer of the Year” in recognition of our continued track record in New Zealand's domestic bond market.
“Australia is our second most important market after the U.S. dollar market,” said IFC Vice President and Treasurer Jingdong Hua. “The
KangaNews
awards are a tremendous validation of our engagement in the region, particularly since the awards are the only ones based purely on peer recognition.”
Since our first issue in the Australian market in 2007, IFC has focused on offering benchmark-size issues with different maturities so investors have a wider range of choices.
In 2011, IFC became the largest supranational issuer in the domestic New Zealand market after issuing bonds worth 350 million New Zealand dollars.
IFC is the global leader among multilateral institutions in private sector development finance, accounting for about 30 percent of the financing committed by international financial institutions. In 2011, IFC raised around $10 billion in capital markets and we expect to raise a similar amount in 2012.
IFC also issues bonds that raise funds for specific projects. For example, IFC Green Bonds have raised $550 million for climate-friendly projects, and our microfinance bonds have raised $325 million to support lending to micro enterprises in emerging markets.
We also issue bonds in local currencies to support the development of emerging capital markets. We have issued bonds in more than 40 currencies such as Brazilian reais, Central African francs, and Malaysian ringgit. Through our local-currency program, we can lend to companies in their local currencies, helping protect them foreign exchange losses should their local currency loses value against the U.S. dollar.
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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