GUATEMALA CITY — In 2006 the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) posted the best financial results since its creation in 1986, according to the annual report presented today in Guatemala’s capital.
The figures which will be ratified by the Governors next Tuesday were made public at a press conference given by the IIC's General Manager, Jacques Rogozinski, the day before the inaugural session of the annual meetings of the Boards of Governors of the IIC and the Inter-American Development Bank to be held here on March 19 and 20.
The IIC is the IDB Group institution that focuses on small and medium-size companies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The value of its portfolio of operations increased 39 percent in 2006, to US$939.9 million. Income from all sources totaled US$71.9 million. Net income was US$39.4 million.
Last year the IIC approved forty-six projects and programs for a total of US$338 million and mobilized an additional US$173 million from other sources. These operations will be carried out in thirteen countries; another operation is regional in scope. Nearly one-half of the projects are in the smaller economies of the region. Nine are in the agricultural and agribusiness sectors, which are key to creating jobs and providing export opportunities in rural areas.
The IIC also launched several initiatives to help make smaller companies in the region more competitive. It implemented a US$12 million Small Business Revolving Line to streamline the approval of loans of between US$100,000 and US$600,000. It also approved local-currency operations, such as a 200 million Mexican peso loan to the microfinanciera Compartamos in Mexico and a 100 million nuevos soles subordinated loan to Banco de Crédito del Perú funded by a bond issue on Peru's securities market.
More recently, the IIC launched the Finpyme program with funding from the Republic of Korea. Finpyme promotes a methodology for the diagnostic review of companies' strengths and weaknesses with the goal of making it easier for them to access bank credit. Hundreds of companies throughout the region have already expressed their interest in participating in Finpyme, which is being carried out in conjunction with universities in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The IIC provides small and medium-size enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean with equity investments, loans, guarantees, and other instruments, both directly and through financial intermediaries. It offers advisory services to such companies as well. Its mandate, which is unique among the multilateral finance institutions, is to promote the economic development of the region by stimulating the establishment, expansion, and modernization of small and medium-size enterprises. The IIC has approved some US$2.6 billion in financing since it began operations.