WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The board of the International Finance Corp., the private-sector arm of the World Bank, approved Thursday a multi-pronged effort to help companies in emerging markets cope with the global financial crisis.
The IFC will double an existing trade-finance guarantee facility to $3 billion, while creating three new programs aimed at recapitalizing banks, supporting infrastructure financing and enabling sovereign wealth fund investments, it said in a release.
The four programs should deploy about $30 billion over the next three years, with the help of governments and international institutions, it said in a release.
"With the support of donors and partners, these IFC facilities will provide critical assistance to many businesses and entrepreneurs and reduce the impact of the crisis on the poor," said IFC Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Lars Thunell in a statement.
The IFC plans to put $1 billion of its own money into a global equity fund to recapitalize banks over the next three years, and Japan has already pledged another $2 billion.
The infrastructure facility, aimed at filling any funding gaps for private-sector infrastructure projects, will get up to $300 million from the IFC. Another $1.2 billion to $10 billion is expected from other sources.
-By Tom Barkley, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9275; tom.barkley@dowjones.com
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Publié le 18 Décembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones