Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 8, 2010
—Rashad Kaldany, Vice President for Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today strongly reaffirmed IFC’s commitment to private sector development in Bangladesh, stressing IFC’s desire to work with the public and private sectors to spur economic growth.
During a visit to Bangladesh, Kaldany met with officials including Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and S.A. Samad, Executive Chairman, Board of Investments, to discuss ways to advance development and growth.
“IFC believes Bangladesh can create important opportunities for people with unmet needs for energy, roads, health care, low-income housing, and microfinance, especially among those who live in low-income, fragile, and climatically vulnerable parts of the country,” said Kaldany.
Kaldany emphasized IFC’s ability to work closely with the government and private sector to take a more active role in the country’s economic growth. While sharing IFC’s experience in working across developing and emerging economies worldwide, Kaldany also stressed IFC’s strategic focus on promoting inclusive growth, addressing climate change impacts, and facilitating regional integration through enhanced trade.
“I have offered IFC’s services and experience, both as an advisor to the government and as a financier to private sector, in developing projects in financial, manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors,” said Kaldany after discussing opportunities and constraints to investments with Board of Investments Executive Chairman Samad.
In Bangladesh IFC’s committed portfolio is over $169 million in projects that span a range of sectors including cement, banking, private equity funds, agribusiness, and microfinance. One example is a $15 million investment to PRAN Group, the country’s leading agri-processor.
Through its Advisory Services, IFC promotes sustainable growth among small and medium enterprises by facilitating access to finance and offering capacity building and training opportunities. IFC works toward a better business climate in Bangladesh. Its work on the automation of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies has reduced the number of days required to register a business from 35 days to one day, and now can be done online. An important example of its climate change adaptation work is the promotion of stress-tolerant seeds to help contribute to food security and climate change adaptation.
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 capital for private enterprise, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
