IFC may raise RP credit facility to $150M

The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank (WB), may raise its loans to the Philippines to $125 million to $150 million to support infrastructure, financial sector, and small-and-medium enterprise projects.

Vipul Bhagat, IFC’s country manager for the Philippines, said the IFC has committed a total of $105 million in loans to the Philippines but this he said could be increased due to the Philippines’ improving fiscal position.

"We believe in the long-term fundamentals of the Philippines. We’re not distracted with what we seen in the papers," Bhagat said.

Bhagat said the IFC may also extend financial assistance to mining companies given strong investor interest in the sector following the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court allowing full ownership in local mining ventures.

"It’s a sector we have been following . We have been approached by mining companies but nothing concrete has come out of our discussions," Bhagat said.

IFC signed a $30-million loan agreement with a special purpose vehicle (SPV) led by Deutsche Bank Real Estate Global Opportunities Fund IB and the National Housing Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC).

The NHMFC, a government-sponsored residential mortgage liquidity provider, auctioned non-performing housing loans comprising more than 55,000 individual accounts with an unpaid principal balance exceeding P13 billion or about $240 million.

Just last week, IFC provided a P2.25 billion or approximately $41 million eight year loan to Filinvest Land Inc., one of the leading housing developers in the country. The loan is expected to help increase the availability of mortgage financing to lower and middle-income buyers in a market dominated by government-owned financial institutions and commercial banks that are not capable of serving these households.

Since its inception in 1956 through 2004, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries.

IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of 2004 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.

IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. It finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international finance markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.