Announcement of World Bank Lends One Hundred Million Dollars for Industrial Development in Colombia on June 19, 1978

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE • I •World Bank '"""""""\ 393-6360 '1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Teleph•Ji!-=:. ;~~.;>; BANK !,lnJS RELEASE NO. 78/117 JUNE 19, 1978 WORLD BANI( LENDS $100 MI LL I ON FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN COLOMB I A Industrial development in Colombia will be assisted with the support of a $100 mill ion World Bank loan. The loan will help promote exports and regional decentralization, and will help finance medium-size and small enterprises. The loan will be made to Banco de la Republica, Colombia's Central Bank, for re-lending to private development finance companies, or financieras. It will be the seventh loan channeled through the financieras for industrial development in Colombia, and will raise the Bank's total lending for this purpose in Colombia to $342.5 mill ;on. • The loan wi 11 be available to cover the foreign exchange costs of productive private sector projects, including those in the manufacturing i~dustry, tourism, ~ining and agro-industry. Up to $10 mi 11 ion of the loan wi 11 be used by the financiaras t0 finance equity investments in industrial enterprises undertaking export and decentralization projects, and in medium- size enterprises carrying out al 1 types of investment projects. Also up to ~S r:1i 11 ion vii 11 be available for improvement of technology and for pollution control projects. ·rhe loan is expected to help finance some 200 industrial projects, thereby increasin~ employr11ent and production, particularly of exports. These projects should result in the creation of about 13,000 additional jobs. The projects are also expected to generate exports valued at about $150 mill ion annually. The $100 mill ion loan to Banco de la Republica, with t~e guarantee of the Republic of Colombia,will have a term of 17 years, including 4 years of grace, vdth interest at 7.5% per annum. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents . •