|
Tbilisi, September 24, 2008
—Snezana Stoiljkovic, IFC Director for Central and Eastern Europe, met today with Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze, to discuss IFC’s ongoing support to Georgia’s private sector.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is strengthening support to its client banks to contribute to the stability of Georgia’s financial sector and ensure access to finance for local companies. The meeting also discussed possible IFC support to improve the business enabling environment, expand access to finance for smaller businesses, and encourage private investment in the country’s infrastructure. IFC has participated in the ongoing needs assessment led by the World Bank and will conduct a survey of small and medium enterprises to assess their needs and design relevant products for their financing.”
“IFC has been very active in Georgia in recent years, particularly in the banking sector,” said Stoiljkovic. “Our priority now is to support our existing clients so that they are able to keep contributing to Georgia’s growth. We just received an approval for a $20 million trade facility for one of our banking clients, which will be announced shortly. We are also looking at new investments in Georgia across different sectors. In the current fiscal year we plan to invest up to $300 million in the country and complement our investments with extensive advisory services. We will also coordinate efforts with other international financial institutions to help improve foreign investor confidence, mobilize private financing for infrastructure, and support the development of Georgia’s small and medium enterprises,” she added.
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
.
IFC in Georgia
Georgia became a shareholder and a member of IFC in 1995. As of July 1, 2008, IFC has committed nearly $225 million in 26 projects in Georgia's financial, power, oil and gas, and manufacturing sectors. In addition to investments, IFC conducts advisory programs in Georgia to promote corporate governance and improve the business environment with the support of BP and its oil and gas partners and the Canadian International Development Agency. The corporate governance project helps companies and banks improve their practices, which has helped bring millions in investment to Georgia. IFC’s business enabling environment project helps government agencies streamline the regulatory framework. It also monitors the local business climate through a regular survey of entrepreneurs. This survey and the IFC/World Bank
Doing Business
report help the government pinpoint priority areas for reform.
|
