Geneva, Switzerland, May 6, 2009
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Global Network of Exim Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) today agreed to work together to reduce the impact of the global financial crisis on importers and exporters in developing countries.
The partners will seek to boost trade in capital goods and services, an area of international trade significantly impaired by the current crisis.
Under an agreement signed today in Geneva, IFC and G-NEXID will work to develop effective and sustainable financing solutions to assist importers and exporters in developing countries and enhance the capacity of G-NEXID members to provide services and financing. G-NEXID and IFC also agreed to share information on trade-finance issues, particularly on trade between emerging-market countries.
“There is a need for immediate action from the international community to address the severe constraints imposed on international trade by the global financial crisis,” said T.C. Venkat Subramanian, Honorary President of G-NEXID. “IFC and G-NEXID recognize the importance of working together to provide creative and collaborative solutions to the problems in international trade finance that will serve the common interest of all stakeholders.”
Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO, said: “The current situation in international trade requires a greater level of cooperation between market participants in these extraordinary times. Partnership is essential and we are pleased to work with G-NEXID to support businesses in emerging markets and serve the longer-term goal of promoting trade between emerging markets through targeted financing programs.”
IFC recently announced the launch of the Global Trade Liquidity Program, a coordinated global initiative that brings together governments, development finance institutions, and private sector banks to support trade in developing markets to address the shortage of trade finance resulting from the global financial crisis. With targeted initial commitments of $5 billion from public sector sources, the program should be able to support up to $50 billion of trade.
The IFC Global Trade Finance Program, which was tripled from $1 billion to $3 billion at the end of 2008 in response to the financial crisis, provides unfunded support in the form of guarantees for trade transactions in emerging markets.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About G-NEXID
The Global Network of Exim Banks and Development Finance Institutions was initiated by UNCTAD in June 2004 to support trade between developing countries and investment co-operation by encouraging bilateral and multilateral agreements among Export-Import (EXIM) Banks and development finance institutions (DFIs) based in developing countries. Members of G-NEXID are able to learn from each other and share effective practices for entering new markets, financing non-traditional goods and services, and establishing risk-sharing methods for investments. For more information visit
www.gnexid.org
.
