Announcement of IFC Assists Dominican Enterprises Three Million US Dollars for Medium-Scale Firms on October 4, 1977

DC?@ •• International Finance Corporation IFC Press Release No. 78/5 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A 202-393-6360 Tuesday, October 4, 1977 IFC Assists Dominican Enterprises $3 Million for Medium-Scale Firms The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, has approved a $3 million line of credit to assist medium-scale industrial enterprises in the Dominican Republic. The credit is to be administered by Financiera Empresarial, a private Dominican finance company affiliated with the leading private domes- tic banking group, Banco Popular Dominicano. The two institutions will provide medium-term loans and working capital of $3 million to complement IFC's long-term loans in an integrated financial package for client companies. • The two Dominican institutions will also be in a position to advise borrowers on a range of business problems and aid in their financial planning. The IFC loans are expected to average about $150,000, and will generally be made to firms with assets between about $200,000 and $2 million. The credit is the second financing of this type undertaken by IFC in an effort to reach smaller enterprises than is possible through its normal direct financing of projects. Last year it provided a $2 million line of credit to a Kenyan commercial bank to be used as the long-term component of integrated packages of finance and advisory services to small and medium-scale enterprises. The new IFC line of credit will permit the Banco Popular group to better serve its industrial clients, comple~ent other funds available in the Dominican Republic for medium-scale enterprises and encourage development of commercial, non-subsidized financing • • (Any inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation in this p:roject should be directed to the IFC Information Office, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, Telephone (202) 477-6247.)