IFC Provides $5 Million To Support Expansion Of Domenia Credit, A Key Mortgage Company In Romania.
In Washington:
Adriana Gomez
Phone: (202) 458 5204
Email: agomez@ifc.org
Bucharest /Washington DC, December 5, 2003.-
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of
the World, will provide a $5 million 10-year credit line to Domenia Credit,
a specialized housing finance company dedicated to originate and service
primary mortgages to Romanian households.
IFC is investing together with Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft
(DEG), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Romanian
American Enterprise Fund (RAEF). The total financing package amounts to
$29 million equivalent of both debt and equity.
The funding will be used to finance mortgage loans for acquiring, constructing,
developing or upgrading residential properties in Romania. It will allow
Domenia to build a portfolio of standardized loans and lay the grounds
for the secondary mortgage market to secure the access to reliable sources
of future funding.
Ana Maria Mihaescu, IFC Chief of Mission in Romania, said, "This
investment represents IFC's entry into the Romanian housing finance market,
an increasingly important and growing aspect of the Romanian financial
sector. Housing finance is a critical pillar of the IFC's strategy to strengthen
finance institutions in Romania. By supporting Domenia, IFC will increase
the availability and affordability of mortgage finance to Romanian families."
Horia Manda, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Domenia Credit, noted:
“The financing agreements signed today by Domenia Credit with DEG, EBRD,
IFC and RAEF stand, above all, for a vote of confidence granted to our
company, as a recognition of our competence to become both an important
player on the Romanian mortgage market and a standard setter thereof. We
are delighted that the aforementioned prestigious institutions decided
to join their efforts with ours as shareholders and lenders in a complex
financing structure, after one year of successful negotiations.”
The mission of IFC (www.ifc.org)
is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries,
helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private
sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international
financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability,
and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.
From its founding in 1956 through FY03, IFC has committed more than $37
billion of its own funds and arranged $22 billion in syndications for 2,990
companies in 140 developing countries. IFC's worldwide committed portfolio
as of FY02 was $16.7 billion for its own account and $6.6 billion held
for participants in loan syndications.
DEG– Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, member of KfW
Group, is one of the largest European institutions for long-term project
and company financing. For 40 years, DEG has been financing and structuring
the investments of private companies in developing and transition countries.
DEG invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development
in all sectors of the economy, from agriculture to infrastructure and manufacturing
to services.
The EBRD, owned by 60 governments and two intergovernmental institutions,
aims to foster the transition from centrally planned to market economies
in central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The Romanian-American Enterprise Fund (RAEF), a private U.S. corporation,
established in 1995 by the U.S. Congress, is a leading institution in private
equity and investment banking/advisory services in Romania. Since inception,
RAEF and its management company Romanian Capital Advisors (RCA) have led
and participated in equity and quasi-equity transactions amounting to over
$130 million, and have helped generate an additional $200 million in trade
by acting as advisors to other investors. RAEF/RCA are currently playing
a senior role as advisors in major privatization transactions in the Romanian
energy sector.
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