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Istanbul, Turkey, June 29, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest up to €25 million in the Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe to stimulate financing of sustainable energy projects within the region.
The fund will have a significant developmental impact in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy and expanding lending to households, small and medium enterprises, renewable energy projects, energy service companies, and municipalities. Its investments initially are targeted to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey.
“This investment signals our confidence in the Green for Growth Fund and will focus investor attention on renewable energy and energy efficiency, an area which remains relatively new in Southeast Europe,” said Edward Strawderman, IFC Senior Manager.
The fund will increase the availability of sustainable energy finance in the region and enable energy efficiency investments that will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, decrease energy costs, and increase energy security.
“We welcome IFC’s investment to the Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe,” said Monika Beck, Chairwoman of the Green for Growth Fund. “We are hoping to raise €400 million to finance sustainable energy projects in Southeast Europe and already have support from the European Commission, KfW Entwicklungsbank, European Investment Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.”
Initiated by European Investment Bank and KfW, the German Development Bank, the fund is managed by Oppenheim Asset Management Services, part of Sal. Oppenheim, a leading private banking and asset management group in Europe, in consortium with the fund advisor, Finance in Motion. This follows the fund management arrangement in the European Fund for Southeast Europe where IFC is an investor. In addition, MACS Management & Consulting Services has been contracted as a subadvisor to provide technical expertise in the area of sustainable energy.
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
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