FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 22, 2002

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For further information, contact:
Lawrence Spinelli (202) 336-8690
Timothy Harwood (202) 336-8744

OPIC BOARD APPROVES $300 MILLION FOR TWO NEW LENDING FACILITIES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved $300 million to establish lending facilities for Citibank in Latin America and Pakistan.

OPIC will provide a $200 million loan guaranty to Citibank to establish a lending facility for Latin America, with initial focus on Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. A second loan guaranty to Citibank for $100 million will create a lending facility for Pakistan as part of the $300 million in support for the country OPIC announced last October.

In each facility, OPIC and Citibank will share risk in new loans to borrowers in the eligible countries. By teaming with Citibank, OPIC will leverage its ability to finance projects while helping the bank to expand its medium- and long-term lending in those countries. The new facilities will also help to alleviate the acute shortage of medium- and long-term commercial financing in the emerging markets, a significant obstacle to economic development.

“By approving these two lending facilities, OPIC’s board is taking an innovative step to unleash the capacity of a leading international bank, Citibank, to deliver much-needed capital to businesses in emerging markets. The facilities also meet OPIC’s additionality requirement, by providing companies support not available in the private market,” said OPIC President and CEO Dr. Peter Watson. “With the assistance of an experienced bank such as Citibank, we anticipate that this initiative will contribute to further economic growth in developing countries.”

OPIC was established as an independent 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.

Over the agency’s 30-year history, OPIC has supported $142 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate over $11 billion in host-government revenues and create over 673,000 host-country jobs. OPIC projects have also generated $64 billion in U.S. exports and create more than 253,000 American jobs.