FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2002

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

OPIC BOARD APPROVES $210 MILLION RUSSIA FUND 
AIMED AT FAST-GROWING BUSINESSES

OPIC to provide $70 million guaranty; fulfills Bush Administration commitment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fulfilling a commitment made by President Bush in May, the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved a $210 million investment fund for Russia intended to support fast-growing businesses in consumer services industries. OPIC will provide a $70 million investment guaranty to the fund, Russia Partners II, L.P., to be managed by New York and Moscow-based Russia Partners Management.

The fund will make direct investments in mid-sized companies that are new, expanding, or in the process of being privatized. It will focus on industries that provide basic goods and services to Russian consumers, including telecommunications, cement and construction materials, forest products, broadcasting and food processing.

The fund will focus primarily on Russia, but will also be available for investments in the Eurasian countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

OPIC President and CEO Dr. Peter Watson said the new fund “will help promising Russian companies gain access to much-needed capital, which in turn will stimulate further economic growth. Enabling Russia and its neighbors to close the gap between supply and demand for private equity will provide critical support to a new generation of entrepreneurs. Moreover, the consumer industries targeted by the fund will maximize the developmental benefits for the greatest number of people possible.”

Dr. Watson also noted that the fund manager was selected through a competitive process and that the fund is the first to be established under new OPIC guidelines by which the agency has reduced its support from two-thirds to one-third of the fund’s total capital. Russia Partners will be obligated to raise the remaining $140 million of the fund’s capital.

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 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.