Announcement of World Bank Lends Twenty Million US Dollars to Tunisian Development Bank on January 8, 1976

eWorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 76/1 January 8, 1976 WORLD HANK LENDS $20 MILLION TO TUNISIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK The World Bank has approved a loan of ~20 million to Banque de Developpement Economique de Tunisie (llDET), a development finance company. The loan will provide funds BDET will require to help finance industrial develop- ment projects in Tunisia. This is the sixth World .Bank loan to BDET, until 1~7J known as Societe NatioLa.it d'Investissements (SNI). The earlier loans totaling $49 million, were made in May 1966 ($5 million), in September 1~67($10 million), in December 1969 ($10 million), in January 1972 ($10 million), and in January 1973 (914 million). Since its establishment BDET has gradually increased its capability to mobilize resources through capital increases, bonds sold to the Tunisian public and borrowings from the Tunisian Central Bank and foreign sources, including Sweden, Germany, Qatar and France. The ownership structure as of June 1975 was as follows: Tunisian public • sector (30%), Tunisian private sector (27~), foreign shareholders (337.), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), 10% • HDET's main function is to stimulate industrializa..:ion and the development of tourism in Tunisia through the financing of sound and productive investment projects. In this way, BDET has contributed substantially to Tunisia's foreign exchange earnings, of which tourism is a major source. Industry's share of foreign exchange income is expected to increase as a result of fiscal and other measures adopted by the Govern- ment to enhance industrial development, particularly export-oriented industries. In the discharge of its functions, BDET has become an important source of medium- and long-term local currency and foreign exchange funds for Tunisia's tourism and manufacturing sectors. At the end of 1~74 BDET held 40% of all outstanding term loans to the Tunisian manufacturing sector, 35k of term loans to tourism, and 11% of term loans to the construction industry. BDET-has also played an important role in tne development of Tunisia's capital market. The World Bank loan is being made to liDET, with ttle guarantee of the Republic of Tunisia, with annual interest at 8-1/2:L The amortization schedule of the loan will conform substantially to tne aggregate of the amortization schedules of loans made out of the proceeds, with a maximum period of 15 years for individual investment projects. • Note: Money figures are expressed in US dollar equivalents . 0