Deal Round-Up: IFC finances Mozambique’s first utility-scale solar plant
Steve Hoare
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has agreed a financing package of US$55 million to build Mozambique’s first utility-scale solar PV plant. It includes US$19 million from the IFC’s own account, US$19 million from Climate Investment Funds, and a syndicated loan of up to US$17 million. The 40.5 MW solar photovoltaic plant will be developed by Norway-based independent power producer Scatec Solar, Norway’s development finance institution Norfund, and Mozambique’s electricity utility Electricidade de Moçambique. The project will also receive a US$7 million viability gap funding grant from the Private Infrastructure Development Group, a multi-donor funded institution that encourages private investment in infrastructure in emerging markets.
The IFC is investing US$7.3 million in Nepal’s first private equity fund Business Oxygen (BO2). The investment is being made through two funds managed by the IFC, financed by the Climate Investment Funds and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). This investment will help BO2 increase its financing for small businesses to help them cope with climate change.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a JPY865 billion (US$117 million) ODA loan agreement with the Vietnamese government to build the Hoa Lac Science and Technology City near Hanoi. The new technology park aims to bring education and research institutions together and to promote private investment in the high-tech sector.
Germany’s development finance institution DEG is providing Waelzholz Brasmetal, the Brazilian subsidiary of German cold rolled steel strip manufacturer Waelzholz Gruppe, with a long-term loan for an unspecified amount of several million US dollars to modernise facilities, increase capacity and further improve product quality.
DEG’s parent company KfW Group has agreed a €17 million loan for water infrastructure projects in Serbia. The projects include the construction of water purification plants and the overhaul of some existing ones in four cities, which provide water to around 125,000 citizens.
Private impact investment firm TriLinc Global Impact Fund has approved US$20.4 million in term loans and trade finance transactions with companies operating in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Beneficiaries included a Peruvian nappy manufacturer, an Ecuadorian shrimp exporter, a dolphin-safe certified Ecuadorian tuna processor and exporter, and a Uruguayan citrus producer.