9 July 2007
The Middle East & North Africa region has become the IFC's fastest-growing portfolio, surpassing $1 billion in new investments for the first time last year.
As its financial year came to a close at the end of June, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) recorded its highest ever volume of new commitments to the Middle East & North Africa region. Standing at $1.2 billion, the IFC's signed commitments for Fiscal Year 2007 represented nearly double its investments in the previous year, making MENA the IFC's fastest-growing regional portfolio.
The IFC has indicated that it intends to maintain high levels of private investment in the region, focusing primarily on financial markets such as in the housing and small/medium enterprise (SME) sectors, as well as oil, gas and infrastructure projects. The IFC has also suggested that it will prioritize involvement in what it deems "frontier countries," namely Iraq, Yemen, West Bank & Gaza, Lebanon, and Afghanistan, though Pakistan and Egypt continue to receive the largest shares of IFC financing in the region.
Apart from its own investments, the IFC facilitates private sector involvement in the region by advising governments on the implementation of investor-friendly reforms, including the privatization of state-owned banks and public utilities such as water services. The IFC indirectly takes the lead on many of these reforms through its managerial role in the multi-donor Private Enterprise Partnership (PEP-MENA) program, in addition to providing advisory services for its own account.
Read more about the involvement of the IFC and other international financial institutions (IFIs) in the MENA region:
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