Announcement of New Financial Institution Established in Uruguay on December 3, 1980

International Finance C01poration • 1818 H Street, NW. Washington, DC. 20433. U.S.A. 202-477-1234 .. IFC Press Release No. 81/23 Wednesday, December 3, 1980 New Financial Institution Established in Uruguay A new Uruguayan merchant/investment banking institution, Sur Invest Corporation, is being established to help the country's capital markets by ex- panding the types of financial services available. Initial financing for the venture amounts to approximately $18.35 million. Sur Invest plans to gradually expand its operations into neighboring countries as the development of Montevideo as an important financial center in the region progresses. Sur Invest's principal sponsor is a group of five prominent Uruguayan • and Argentine entrepreneursi led by Gonzalo Soto. Also investing in the Company as individuals are John Castleton and Daniel Soler, both well-known Uruguayan business!Ilen, equity. The private investors are taking up approximately $2 million in The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, and Samuel Montagu & Co. Limited, a London merchant bank, are each invest- ing $667,000 in equity. IFC is also lending the Company $10 million and Samuel Montagu is providing a $5 million loan. Sur Invest will develop new financing services, primarily industrial equipment leasing and underwriting of corporate bonds and equities. It will also promote the primary issue, and support the secondary trading, of commercial paper, acceptances, debentures and bonds. The Company will place an emphasis on extend- ing its leasing activities towards small and medium-scale enterprises, which have limited access to existing financing sources. Samuel Montagu, the technical partner, will provide the company with technical expertise, operating procedures and training facilities. Management and staff for Sur Invest have been primarily recruited locally • although some expatriates are being sought. Francisco Ravecca, an Uruguayan