FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2002

(Printer-friendly version)

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

OPIC BOARD APPROVES $150 MILLION LENDING FACILITY FOR RUSSIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved a $150 million OPIC guaranty to support Citibank’s U.S. dollar and local currency projects in Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The facility is the third between OPIC and Citibank to be approved by the board this year.

The guaranty is designed to help Citibank expand availability of credit in the region. Citibank and OPIC will share the risk for individual loans originated under this facility, each of which will be cleared by OPIC for U.S. effects, environmental, human and workers’ rights. 

In May, OPIC’s board approved $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. The board also approved a $100 million loan guaranty to Citibank to create a lending facility for Pakistan. 

OPIC President and CEO Dr. Peter Watson said the OPIC facility would enable Citibank to expand its presence in these countries, by helping to close the gap between loan opportunities and the limited amount of financing available in Russia and Central Asia.

“In every corner of the globe, the growth of private enterprise is depended on the availability of banking capital, which is typically difficult to obtain in emerging markets. Through this lending facility and two other lending facilities previously approved in Latin America and Pakistan, OPIC’s board has enabled Citibank to further leverage its commitment to the emerging markets by helping those markets overcome that challenge, and therefore to start down the road to accelerated economic growth,” Dr. Watson said.

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 140 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. 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.