ANKARA: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has said it had a fourth consecutive record year in Turkey, investing $1.8 billion to support sustainable energy and infrastructure development, improve municipal services, promote local capital markets and help Turkish companies increase competitiveness and impact, in a written statement on Sept. 26. During the fiscal year 2016, which ended on June 30, the IFC committed a total of $1.8 billion in equity, long-term loans, interest rate swaps and trade finance across 18 projects, said the statement.
The biggest gains were seen in the IFC’s equity investments, which reached a record $625 million in new commitments, an almost 70 percent increase over the prior year, added the statement. In addition to investing its own funds, the IFC also mobilized more than $300 million of financing for third party investors. The IFC provided $370 million in short-term loans to support trade finance under the IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program, which enables essential support and liquidity for trade flows through a global network of more than 500 bank partners, helping small and medium enterprises access the global trading system.
This fiscal year also marked the end of the current five-year World Bank Group Country Partnership period with Turkey, under which the IFC implemented its program in the country, according to the statement. During this period, the World Bank Group invested a total of $9 billion in Turkey, including a significant $4.5 billion contribution from the IFC to meet the program’s development goals.
