Kingston, Jamaica, October 22, 2010—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with the Development Bank of Jamaica, to help the bank improve divestment transactions, ensuring a more efficient and transparent process that follows international best practices. The initiative seeks to support the government of Jamaica in its efforts to have greater private sector involvement through the divestment of non-core assets.
With the support of the Canadian International Development Agency, about 30 key representatives involved in the divestment of public enterprises participated in a seminar held in Kingston. The seminar included sessions on creating and empowering an enterprise team to design and implement the divestment program, traditional and hybrid modalities, key elements of the process, and execution of divestments in a transparent manner.
”IFC’s support is significant, especially now that we are seeking to broaden the ownership and management of public entities through our divestment program. It is a very timely intervention, and we welcome the opportunity to acquire best practices in this area,” said Milverton Reynolds, Managing Director of the Development Bank of Jamaica. “I wish to express our appreciation to IFC for its assistance and look forward to collaborating with the organization on many other initiatives in the future.”
The divestment program, implemented in Jamaica by the Development Bank of Jamaica, seeks to ease the fiscal burden on the government, while achieving greater levels of efficiency in the operation of state-owned enterprises that have been divested. These transactions, if structured appropriately, can help improve infrastructure and service delivery for the population and decrease direct investment by government in state-owned enterprises, thereby ensuring long-term sustainable benefits.
“Through this partnership, IFC is contributing to building local capacity to help the government increase its fiscal space and improve efficiency,” said Kalim Shah, IFC Resident Representative for Jamaica. “Well-structured divestments will generate greater levels of efficiency aided by the injection of private capital and expertise as well as more resources that can be used to meet critical expenditures, including social services.”
Since its founding in 1956, IFC has committed $1.25 billion in the Caribbean private sector. IFC’s strategy in the region aims to diversify the economies and strengthen private sector competitiveness in order to stimulate economic growth and job creation.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About Development Bank of Jamaica
The Development Bank of Jamaica is a development institution whose mission is to facilitate the growth and development of enterprises in the productive sectors of the Jamaican economy. In fulfilling its mandate, the bank provides medium and long-term financing solutions through alliances with Approved Financial Institutions with an emphasis on small and medium enterprises, direct lending for large projects in strategic areas, and the management and privatization of national assets and investments.