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IFC, ADB, and HDFC Investments Invest in Maldives to Make Housing Affordable and Accessible
Male, Maldives, July 28, 2008—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, and HDFC
Investments Limited, a subsidiary of Housing Development Finance Corporation
Limited, India, are investing in Maldives to help reduce the country’s
severe housing shortage. The equity and loan investment package will enable
privatization of Maldives’ Housing Development Finance Corporation Plc,
a government-owned housing finance institution, and transform it into a
commercially viable, private sector–led company.
The equity component of the package
totals $12.75 million. IFC and ADB will each invest $4.5 million, and HDFC
Investments Limited will invest $3.75 million. IFC and ADB will also provide
a $7.5 million loan each to support the project.
There is an urgent need for housing
in Maldives, which faces a growing population and pressure on limited land
resources. HDFC-Maldives was established by the government in 2004 to provide
long-term mortgage financing.
Raheema Saleem, Managing Director of
HDFC-Maldives, said, “Safe, affordable housing is a basic necessity. Without
a decent place to live, people cannot be productive members of society,
children cannot learn, and families cannot thrive. As we grapple with the
housing crisis, measures need to be taken to ensure that bottlenecks are
eliminated on a meaningful scale.”
Paolo Martelli, IFC Director for South
Asia, said, “IFC’s financial sector investment and advisory interventions
in Maldives aim to help local financial institutions improve capacity and
access to domestic and international funding. This project will provide
an opportunity for home ownership for middle- and lower-income borrowers
on a commercially viable, sustainable basis.”
Christine Engstrom, ADB’s Senior Investment
Specialist for Private Sector Operations, said, “Housing is in a chronic
shortage in Maldives due to scarcity of land and limited long-term financing
for mortgages. With our support and close cooperation between the government
and shareholders, HDFC-Maldives will be able to address the shortage by
improving access to mortgage financing.”
Renu Sud Karnad, Joint Managing Director
of HDFC-India, said, “It is our privilege to bring 30 years of our exeprience
in mortgage finance to Maldives. With this cooperation, HDFC can provide
consultancy services and technical assistance in housing finance to all
countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.”
IFC has also helped the Maldives Monetary
Authority set up the country’s first leasing company and is in the process
of helping set up a credit information bureau.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing
private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international
financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services
to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that people should have
the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC
committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through
syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing
countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more
information, visit www.ifc.org.
With donor funding from the Netherlands and Norway, IFC also provides advisory
services to create a business-enabling environment in Maldives and Sri
Lanka. It supports value addition to firms through tailored advice, capacity
building programs, training, and research.
About ADB
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to
reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic
growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established
in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2007, it approved
$10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of grant projects, and technical assistance
amounting to $243 million. For more information, please visit Asian Development
Bank, www.adb.org.
About HDFC
HDFC was promoted in 1977 in India as
a public limited company specializing in providing housing finance primarily
to individual households and corporates for the purchase and construction
of residential housing. HDFC is India’s first retail housing finance company
and is currently one of the largest originators of housing loans in the
country. HDFC has provided consultancy services and technical assistance
in housing finance in Asia, Africa and East Europe.
As at June 2008, HDFC’s cumulative
loan approvals stood at $ 46 billion, in respect of over 3.2 million housing
units. Over the years, the HDFC group has emerged as a strong financial
conglomerate in the Indian capital markets with a presence in banking,
life and general insurance, asset management and venture capital. For information,
visit www.hdfc.com
and www.hdfc.com.mv.
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