March 13, 2002

MEXICO, MIF SIGN DOCUMENTS FOR $4 MILLON INVESTMENT IN FUND FOR SMALL FIRMS IN TIJUANA Documents for project signed during IDB Annual Meeting in Fortaleza

FORTALEZA, Brazil -Inter-American Development Bank President Enrique V. Iglesias and Mexico’s Nacional Financiera, SNC Assistant Director General Federico Patiño today signed documents for a $4 million investment in Fondo Tijuana Capital de Riesgo, a fund that will support small enterprises in the Mexican state of Baja California.

Fondo Tijuana’s manager, Enrique Mier y Terán, also signed the documents in a ceremony held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the IDB’s Board of Governors in this northeastern Brazilian city.

The investment of resources from the Multilateral Investment Fund, an autonomous fund administered by the IDB, will help Fondo Tijuana make equity, quasi-equity and debt investments to improve the competitiveness of small enterprises in Baja California, home to many maquila firms.

As part of the project, two investment instruments will be established on a pilot basis: the Angel Fund, made up of private investors; and the Institutional Fund, composed of public investors. These funds will co-invest in small firms that function as suppliers of the maquiladora industry or export businesses. The private partners in the Angel Fund will also focus on the selection and follow-up of investments, including the provision of the necessary assistance for development of the business.