Multilateral institutions participated in entrepreneurial meeting in Uruguay

In order to show the financial products, services, and options to the national private sector of Uruguay, CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the International Financial Corporation of the World Bank Group (WB), and the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay (BROU) participated in an entrepreneurial meeting organized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF, for its acronym in Spanish). 

Jorge Polgar, Under-Secretary of Economy and Finance, highlighted the interest of the government in promoting the expansion of the sectors specialized in infrastructure, technology, and innovation.  He assured that those markets constitute an opportunity for multilateral organizations that have the necessary resources to invest in areas with "high potential" but also "high risk".  

The Under-Secretary stated, "We ask multilateral organizations to go where local banks do not go, to go to the areas that have an impact on development, to help create what the country lacks, to offer terms that others do not offer, to attract risk investment. We know it is not easy, but it is development".  

Omar Gonzalez, CAF´s Private Sector senior specialist, pointed out that the institution "has several financing operations for the non-sovereign sector, which range from short term credit lines to structured loans for long term investment projects". He indicated that CAF closed 2013 with a total of USD 12 billion in approved loans. In addition, the general portfolio at the close of the year reached USD 18.2 billion and the net capital closed at USD 7.8 billion. 

Gonzalez explained that the loans were distributed as follows: 35 percent for projects associated to the development of infrastructure, explained that the loans were distributed as follows: 35 percent for projects associated to the development of infrastructure, 28 percent for energy proposals, 18 percent for social development, 12 percent for enterprises belonging to the productive and financial sectors, and 7 percent for other types of investments. Financing for projects in Uruguay is going to the dredging work carried out by Gas Sayago, the credit lines granted to Cereoil and Teyma, and the loans for the construction of the Cadonal Aeolic park. At the same time, Martin Duhart, IDB´s Principal Investment Official referred to the interest in attracting new investors to the country. He stated, "We are interested  in working with profitable companies that are sustainable in time, and that comply with the required transparency criteria". He added that multilateral organizations offer the possibility of access to long term loans together with a technical assistance plan, while managing amounts that the local banking system cannot reach. 

Salem Rohana, Resident Representative of the IFC for the Southern Cone, an organization that belongs to the WB Group, expressed that the future of investment is in infrastructure, which must accompany the country's economic and productive growth. "The Uruguayan private sector looks abroad. The country is attracting investments and we believe we are prepared to continue showing its resiliency in the face of international shocks". From this point of view, he indicated that multilateral organizations have more possibilities of investing in what he called "the new Uruguay". 

Julio Cesar Porteiro, President of the BROU, closed the event and highlighted that as a development bank, the bank has an annual bid for investment projects that allows for the identification of initiatives that may benefit from soft loans among other products offered by the institution to enterprises. He pointed out that this product enables the evaluation of financial aspects together with other elements such as the generation of work, location of the company applying for the loan, the value added of the exports, and the production, traceability, and quality systems. He said "it is clear that in coming years, large infrastructure projects will demand large investments which the BROU cannot face by itself. We will have to address these new proposals together with the multilateral credit organizations.