GuarantCo Welcomes Additional Funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

  • Date written
  • August, 2017

GuarantCo, the world’s leading local currency guarantee facility, has received a further AUD4m from DFAT to support its continued growth.

GuarantCo is also backed by the UK (DFID), Switzerland (SECO), Sweden (Sida), through the multilateral Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and the Netherlands (DGIS) through FMO. This recent funding allocation blends well with GuarantCo’s ambition to expand its operations in Asia and the Pacific to address existing constraints in local currency debt financing for infrastructure projects. “GuarantCo is grateful for the further funding received from DFAT and its continued support. We continue to seek to expand GuarantCo’s activities in Asia and the Pacific following the recent opening of our office in Singapore” stated Mr. Andy Bainbridge, Chairman, GuarantCo Board.

GuarantCo’s credit enhancement instruments improve conditions for local medium and long-term financing of infrastructure projects and thus contributes to the development of domestic capital markets in some of the world’s most frontier markets. This in turn, increases economic growth and helps to reduce poverty. With Asia and the Pacific making an increasing contribution to the growth of GuarantCo, the strengthened partnership with DFAT comes at an important time.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About GuarantCo

GuarantCo is part of the multilateral Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and provides solutions to support local currency financing for infrastructure projects in emerging and frontier markets. Founded in 2005, GuarantCo has to date provided 42 guarantees to a total value of over USD 700m and crowded in over USD 3.8bln of commercial financing, mainly in local currency.

Although GuarantCo can provide dollar-denominated guarantees in fragile and conflict-affected states where there is a commercial rational to do so, its priority is to mobilise local financing and support local capital market development.

GuarantCo is funded by the UK (DFID), Switzerland (SECO), Sweden (Sida), the Netherlands (DGIS through FMO) and Australia (DFAT). See GuarantCo’s chapter in PIDG’s 2016 Annual Report to learn more about its cumulative development results.

 

About PIDG

The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) encourages and mobilises private investment in infrastructure in the frontier markets of sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-east Asia, to help promote economic development and combat poverty. Since 2002, PIDG has mobilised $31.4bn from private sector investors and DFIs, supported 154 infrastructure projects to financial close and provided 222 million people with access to new or improved infrastructure. PIDG is funded by donors from seven countries (UK, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany) and the World Bank Group.