The following is a press release by The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC),
Robert Mosbacher, Jr., president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), will announce OPIC finance and political risk insurance in support of a minimum of $120 million in new investment for El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua during a May 16-19 trip to signatory countries of the free trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR).
The new financing comprises OPIC support for a new private equity investment fund for Central America, Mexico and Colombia; an OPIC loan to fund microfinance institutions in the region; OPIC loans for a series of housing construction and mortgage financing projects that will help relieve the region's substantial housing need; and an agricultural project in Nicaragua that features both OPIC financing and political risk insurance.
The OPIC insurance projects announced on the trip include an offshore oil and gas exploration project in Nicaragua, and U.S. small business projects in Honduras and Nicaragua.
Mosbacher will sign agreements for each of the finance and insurance projects during a four-day trip to El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, the three countries where the CAFTA-DR has entered into force. He will be joined by representatives from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
During the trip, Mosbacher will also sign agreements between OPIC and the National Commission for the Promotion of Investment and Exports (CONADEI) on behalf of the National Investment Promotion Agency of El Salvador (PROESA) in El Salvador, and its Honduran counterpart, the Honduran Foundation for Investment and Development of Exports (FIDE), designed to facilitate OPIC support for U.S. investment in those countries. OPIC concluded a similar agreement with Nicaragua's investment promotion agency, PRONicaragua, in January.
"Increasing investment in Central America is a central goal of CAFTA-DR, which is the first trade agreement to establish a Committee on Trade Capacity Building. The fact that, in the space of eight months since CAFTA-DR was enacted, OPIC has marshaled $120 million to support investment in the region, demonstrates both OPIC's commitment to CAFTA-DR and to a growing realization that Central America is a profitable destination for U.S. investment dollars," Mosbacher said.
"As President Bush stated last August, 'Two decades ago, many of the CAFTA-DR nations struggled with poverty and dictatorship and civil strife. Today, they're working democracies, and we must not take these gains for granted.' OPIC has carefully selected projects that address some of the most pressing needs in the region - provision of housing and housing finance, and enabling small businesses to grow - so that economic benefits of accession to CAFTA-DR are indeed extended to the greatest number of Central Americans possible," Mosbacher said.
The OPIC trip will include agreement-signings or visits to each of the following projects:
Darby ProBanco Fund II - a private equity investment fund, supported by $45 million in OPIC financing, which will support investments in companies in Central America, Mexico and Colombia. The total size of the fund is $90 million, with a minimum of $54 million to be invested in CAFTA countries. OPIC's board of directors approved establishment of the fund on April 27.
Microfinance International (MFIC) - OPIC is providing a $4 million loan to MFIC, a U.S. company that provides remittance and other financial services in the U.S. in collaboration with microfinance institutions in Latin America. MFIC will use the OPIC loan to make loans to microfinance institutions in several countries in the region, including El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras.
Honduras Homes - OPIC is providing a $9.2 million loan to a Honduran subsidiary of a U.S. company for the lease-purchase financing of 1400 low-cost homes in the Honduran cities of San Pedro Sula and Villaneuva. The project also features an OPIC small business insurance 'wrap.'
GHP Honduras - OPIC is providing a $1.5 million loan to a U.S. company for the construction of affordable homes near Tegucigalpa, 15 of which are already completed.
MKJ Exploraciones Internacionales - OPIC is providing a total of $3 million in political risk insurance to a U.S. company that won concessions from the Nicaraguan government for two oil and gas exploration projects off the Caribbean coast.
Infinity Energy Resources, Inc. - OPIC is providing a total of $2.3 million in political risk insurance to Infinity Energy Resources, a U.S. company that won concessions from the Nicaraguan government for two oil and gas projects off the Caribbean coast called Perlas Prospect and Tyra Prospect.
OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.
OPIC's political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the agency's 35-year history, OPIC has supported $164 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate more than 732,000 host-country jobs and $13 billion in host-government revenues. OPIC projects have also generated $69 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 264,000 American jobs.
Contact: Lawrence Spinelli, 202/336-8690; Timothy Harwood, 202/336-8744.
Robert Mosbacher, Jr., president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), will announce OPIC finance and political risk insurance in support of a minimum of $120 million in new investment for El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua during a May 16-19 trip to signatory countries of the free trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR).
The new financing comprises OPIC support for a new private equity investment fund for Central America, Mexico and Colombia; an OPIC loan to fund microfinance institutions in the region; OPIC loans for a series of housing construction and mortgage financing projects that will help relieve the region's substantial housing need; and an agricultural project in Nicaragua that features both OPIC financing and political risk insurance.
The OPIC insurance projects announced on the trip include an offshore oil and gas exploration project in Nicaragua, and U.S. small business projects in Honduras and Nicaragua.
Mosbacher will sign agreements for each of the finance and insurance projects during a four-day trip to El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, the three countries where the CAFTA-DR has entered into force. He will be joined by representatives from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
During the trip, Mosbacher will also sign agreements between OPIC and the National Commission for the Promotion of Investment and Exports (CONADEI) on behalf of the National Investment Promotion Agency of El Salvador (PROESA) in El Salvador, and its Honduran counterpart, the Honduran Foundation for Investment and Development of Exports (FIDE), designed to facilitate OPIC support for U.S. investment in those countries. OPIC concluded a similar agreement with Nicaragua's investment promotion agency, PRONicaragua, in January.
"Increasing investment in Central America is a central goal of CAFTA-DR, which is the first trade agreement to establish a Committee on Trade Capacity Building. The fact that, in the space of eight months since CAFTA-DR was enacted, OPIC has marshaled $120 million to support investment in the region, demonstrates both OPIC's commitment to CAFTA-DR and to a growing realization that Central America is a profitable destination for U.S. investment dollars," Mosbacher said.
"As President Bush stated last August, 'Two decades ago, many of the CAFTA-DR nations struggled with poverty and dictatorship and civil strife. Today, they're working democracies, and we must not take these gains for granted.' OPIC has carefully selected projects that address some of the most pressing needs in the region - provision of housing and housing finance, and enabling small businesses to grow - so that economic benefits of accession to CAFTA-DR are indeed extended to the greatest number of Central Americans possible," Mosbacher said.
The OPIC trip will include agreement-signings or visits to each of the following projects:
Darby ProBanco Fund II - a private equity investment fund, supported by $45 million in OPIC financing, which will support investments in companies in Central America, Mexico and Colombia. The total size of the fund is $90 million, with a minimum of $54 million to be invested in CAFTA countries. OPIC's board of directors approved establishment of the fund on April 27.
Microfinance International (MFIC) - OPIC is providing a $4 million loan to MFIC, a U.S. company that provides remittance and other financial services in the U.S. in collaboration with microfinance institutions in Latin America. MFIC will use the OPIC loan to make loans to microfinance institutions in several countries in the region, including El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras.
Honduras Homes - OPIC is providing a $9.2 million loan to a Honduran subsidiary of a U.S. company for the lease-purchase financing of 1400 low-cost homes in the Honduran cities of San Pedro Sula and Villaneuva. The project also features an OPIC small business insurance 'wrap.'
GHP Honduras - OPIC is providing a $1.5 million loan to a U.S. company for the construction of affordable homes near Tegucigalpa, 15 of which are already completed.
MKJ Exploraciones Internacionales - OPIC is providing a total of $3 million in political risk insurance to a U.S. company that won concessions from the Nicaraguan government for two oil and gas exploration projects off the Caribbean coast.
Infinity Energy Resources, Inc. - OPIC is providing a total of $2.3 million in political risk insurance to Infinity Energy Resources, a U.S. company that won concessions from the Nicaraguan government for two oil and gas projects off the Caribbean coast called Perlas Prospect and Tyra Prospect.
OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.
OPIC's political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the agency's 35-year history, OPIC has supported $164 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate more than 732,000 host-country jobs and $13 billion in host-government revenues. OPIC projects have also generated $69 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 264,000 American jobs.
Contact: Lawrence Spinelli, 202/336-8690; Timothy Harwood, 202/336-8744.