Posted by Jennifer Young, Research Associate MicroCapital

European Investment Bank (EIB) to Loan $12b by 2020 to African, Caribbean, Pacific Countries for Infrastructure, Private Business, Regional Developments

The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union (EU), recently announced that it will loan a total of EUR 9 billion (USD 12 billion) by 2020 to institutions in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions through its ACP Investment Facility, a revolving and risk-bearing fund for private sector investment. The loan is intended to support infrastructure developments that would aim to boost small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development and improve regional integration. According to EIB’s President, Werner Hoyer, the sum represents a 25-percent increase in loans to the regions [1]. The European Development Fund, the primary EU “instrument for providing community aid for development cooperation in the ACP states and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT),” will provide EUR 500 million (USD 660 million) for the ACP Investment Facility and an additional amount of EUR 634 million (USD 837 million) for interest rate subsidies and technical assistance [2]. Further details of the loan are unavailable.

The total subscribed capital of EIB is EUR 242 billion (USD 317 billion) as at December 2011.

About European Investment Bank (EIB)

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was created in 1958 and now serves as the long-term lending bank of the European Union. In addition to supporting projects in EU member states, its main priorities include financing investments in likely future member states and EU partner countries, principally in the area of small and medium-sized enterprises. According to its website, “the EIB operates on a non-profit maximizing basis and lends at close to the cost of borrowing.” The total subscribed capital of EIB is EUR 242 billion (USD 317 billion) as at December 2011.