On 23 December 2009, Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB - Development Bank of Austria) and Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura S.A. (CIFI) signed a credit line to the amount of USD 20 million.
The funds will serve to close the existing gap in infrastructure finance in Central and Latin America. Because of the prevailing financial crisis many essential investments for the region cannot be completed due to the lack of available funding. The credit line from OeEB is aimed to support CIFI in closing this gap.
Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura S.A.
CIFI was established by the initiative of the Spanish banking group Caja Madrid in Costa Rica in 2001 and sets its focus on the financing of small and medium-sized infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Among others, CIFI has a good position in the energy sector which could be of potential interest to Austrian companies.
In addition to well-known commercial banks, CIFI’s shareholders include several bi- and multilateral development organizations, such as Norfund, Finnfund, IFC, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Inter-American Investment Corporation and the Caribbean Development Bank.