OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2011. IBC participated in a meeting with Rachel Kyte, President, Business Advisory Services at IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Ms. Kyte who paid her first official visit to Kyrgyz Republic emphasized that IFC will continue to provide investment and advisory services to support private sector development, strengthen financial institutions and improve infrastructure in Kyrgyz Republic.

During her visit, Ms. Kyte met with Almazbek Atambaev, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and Uchkunbek Tashbaev, Minister of Economic Regulation of the Kyrgyz Republic. During these meetings Ms. Kyte praised the strong partnership between IFC and the Kyrgyz government and discussed opportunities to further expand cooperation.

“Central Asia, including Kyrgyz Republic, is one of IFC’s corporate priorities,” said Rachel Kyte. “We will continue to support SMEs through the financial sector and advisory services, and increase our investments in locally owned companies.”

IFC is aiming to increase its investments to the private sector and sub-national companies in Kyrgyz Republic from the current level of USD 10-15 million annually to up to USD 20-40 million annually in the coming fiscal year.

The Kyrgyz Republic joined IFC in 1993, and IFC’s commitments to the country have reached nearly USD 90 million. IFC’s investment to date has been mainly focused on banking, microfinance and real sector. New IFC commitments in 2007-2010 notable increased compared to the previous years.

In addition to investment services, IFC in partnership with the Government of Switzerland and UKaid, is providing advisory services to help improve the investment climate, strengthen financial infrastructure and help local companies and banks become more competitive and attract investment.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record USD 18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.