IFC pledges support for Lankan companies

by Surekha Galagoda

Sri Lanka is an important market for us and we would support Sri Lankan companies to spread its wings regionally and globally, said International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Regional Vice President Asia and Latin America Farida Khambata, addressing journalists in Colombo at an event to commemorate IFC's 50th anniversary.

IFC reaffirming its commitment said that they would support Sri Lankan companies to introduce financial products and become robust in the coming years.

She said that providing finances alone was not sufficient for development, therefore we provide advisory services as well. Our priority areas are to build a long-term relationship with the private sector, provide value addition to companies and work on public-private partnerships.

IFC believes that the private sector is key to development as it is the most important engine for growth and job creation.

Regional Director South Asia IFC Iyad Malas said that Sri Lanka has companies such as Brandix, Hayleys and JKH which are globally competitive and there are opportunities in the banking sector too for consolidation. He said that IFC will help the tourism sector with technical assistance and investment in the future.

IFC sees a number of investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Therefore the challenge is to double our portfolio in the next two years, said Country Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Gilles Jacques Galludec. The investments are largely in the areas of ports and energy, infrastructure, telecommunications and the financial sector.

IFC's cumulative investment exceeds US$ 300 million. Today IFC's investment exposure in Sri Lanka is US$ 86 million.

Speaking about the commercial bank investment, Malas said that IFC has a 15% stake and they support the Rights issue. We are seeking management approval to take part in the Rights issue.

GM South Asia Enterprise Development facility Anil Sinha said today IFC not only invests, but also manages advisory programs in extremely challenging and difficult markets.

This work, funded from our profits and by donors, aims to build capacity in the private sector and improve the investment climate." Sinha is also the South Asia Regional Coordinator for IFC's advisory services, an increasingly large component of the Corporation's contribution to private sector growth in developing regions.

Globally, IFC's strategic priorities include strengthening the focus in frontier markets; building long-term partnerships with emerging global players in developing countries; differentiating through sustainability; addressing constraints to private sector growth in infrastructure, health, and education; and helping local financial market development through institution building and the use of innovative financial products.

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