- The amount of the loan amounts to 300 million dollars and its objective is to promote business development between Spain and Latin America and promote the internationalization of companies.
- It may be used for financing operations and / or the granting of guarantees required from companies within international bidding processes.
CAF –development bank of Latin America– and the Official Credit Institute (ICO) today signed the granting of a loan for 300 million dollars, intended to finance and grant guarantees to Spanish and Latin American companies.
The objective of this operation is to expand support to Spanish companies that are in the process of expanding their businesses in Latin America, as well as to Latin American companies that wish to increase their operations in Spain. This agreement is part of the program announced by CAF Executive President Enrique García at the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Cádiz last November.
The ICO will apply the funds to both direct operations and the Institute's lines of mediation, which are formalized by companies through Spanish financial institutions.
The loans will have a maximum amount of 20 million dollars per company and Spanish or Latin American companies with projects taking place in Latin America, CAF's geographical area of activity, may be clients.
Of the total amount, 200 million will be used for loan operations. With the granting of loans, Spanish and Latin American companies are allowed to finance their exports or imports, or undertake investment projects abroad. With the granting of short, medium and long-term credit and in dollars, one of the main demands of the sector is covered, which requires long-term financing and in the dollar currency, which companies often find difficult to access.
The remaining 100 million will go to the granting of guarantees, thus allowing companies to participate in international bidding processes, and to have the guarantees required in these processes to present their offers or sign the contracts awarded.
With this collaboration between ICO and CAF, the ICO product catalog is expanded, aimed at promoting the internationalization of companies, in a clear commitment by ICO to specialize and focus its credit on internationalization.
This operation demonstrates the confidence that international organizations have in the Spanish economy, as ICO is a public bank with the guarantee of the Spanish State.
CAF's mission is to promote sustainable development and regional integration, by financing projects in the public and private sectors, the provision of technical cooperation and other specialized services. Established in 1970 and currently made up of 18 countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay) and 14 private banks in the region, is one of the main sources of multilateral financing and an important generator of knowledge for the region. More information in www.caf.com.
