Lima, Peru, October 31, 2006
— Mr. Lars Thunell, recently appointed chief executive of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will visit Peru from November 2 to 3, 2006. The visit is his first official trip to Latin America since joining IFC in January.
The visit highlights IFC’s continuing commitment to its well-established partnership with Peru. Thunell’s agenda plans to include a meeting with recently elected President Alan Garcia as well as consultations with representatives from the local private sector and civil society. He will meet with IFC clients and visit projects the Corporation has financed. He will be accompanied by Farida Khambata, IFC’s Vicepresident for Asia and Latin America and Atul Mehta, IFC’s Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The trip will give Thunell an opportunity to discuss the country’s priorities for economic and social development and explore ways to improve the business environment and enhance private sector development. The visit coincides with the launching of the World Bank Group’s 2007
Doing Business
report in the country. The report cites Peru as one of the world’s top ten reformers of business regulation.
“IFC will continue to support Peru’s private sector by encouraging more investment in strategic sectors, such as microfinance, infrastructure, and agribusiness. IFC believes in the potential of the private sector to reduce poverty,” said Thunell.
“IFC supports the inclusion of marginalized groups into the formal economy through loans to vibrant and successful microfinance institutions, as well as through our Technical Assistance Facility for Latin America and the Caribbean,” Thunell added.
The technical assistance facility is a multidonor initiative managed by IFC and headquartered in Lima. Its core objective is to promote private sector development by simplifying municipal business regulations, working to enhance the local benefits of extractive industries, improving access to finance and supporting high potential export sectors, thus contributing to poverty reduction in the region.
IFC in Peru
Since 1956, when Peru joined IFC, the Corporation has provided $942 million, including syndications, for 52 companies. During fiscal year 2006, IFC invested $44 million in the country, with a focus on the agribusiness and finance and insurance sectors. IFC’s total portfolio in Peru was $272 million at June 2006, with an additional $14 million held for participating banks. Peru currently has IFC’s fifth-largest country exposure among Latin American countries.
About IFC
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory services. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
