IFC ready to finance Sri Lankan private sector projects

Sep 01, 2016 (LBO) - The International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank group, is ready to finance Sri Lanka’s private sector projects by providing mid to long term loans through a multiple of financing methods, an official said.



"The loan component for potential partners would start from around 3 million US dollars but the projects need to be ‘Development Oriented’," Ameena Arif, country manager, IFC said.

“Our program in Sri Lanka has been dimmed a bit in the recent years, due to the private sector holding back a little.



We did not see such demand from the private sector," She was addressing the main committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce consisting around 30 top corporate executives of the country and industry leaders, who meets every month to discuss the status of the Lankan economy. IFC engages in financing private sector projects and is looking at financing ventures in the areas of energy, agriculture, new tourist hotels in the North and East or any new and innovative development oriented projects.

“We are also ready to focus on IT and Tech Startups,’ she said.



She was also of the view that Sri Lanka needs to capitalize on its geographical advantage and also its status of being the most neutral country in South Asia to boost its economic growth.