The following operations were approved in recent weeks by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Inter-American Investment Corporations (IIC) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).
Argentina
A $300 million IDB loan to Aguas Argentinas S.A., holder of a concession to supply water and sewerage services to the Greater Buenos Aires area, to help finance its 1998 2001 investment program.
Brazil
A $3 million MIF investment in the Investment Fund for Emerging Technology-Based Companies in Rio Grande do Sul.
Costa Rica
A $1.5 million MIF grant to support a software sector competitiveness. See article on facing page.
A $500,000 grant from the French Technical Cooperation Fund to assist the modernization of public transportation in the greater San José metropolitan area.
Colombia
A $6 million IDB loan to strengthen the institutional capabilities and structure of the national Congress.
A $630,000 MIF grant to encourage private sector involvement in subsidized health insurance.
Dominican Republic
A $4.55 million IIC loan to Zona Franca Industrial de Santo Domingo Este, C.X.A., for expansion of leasing space to export-related industrial and assembly operations.
Ecuador
A $1,940,000 MIF grant to improve management practices of local governments, in the cities of Cuenca and Ambato.
Guatemala
A $1,585,070 MIF grant for a pilot project to bring business services to small firms.
A $900,000 MIF grant to assist the government in developing a policy framework that will support the growth of small businesses and microenterprise.
Honduras
A $10.39 million soft loan from the Fund for Special Operations to support the initial phase of a government strategy to provide housing for low-income households that were made homeless by Hurricane Mitch.
A $700,000 MIF grant to increase the productivity and competitiveness of microenterprise and small manufacturers.
A $750,000 in MIF financing to support the transition of potable water and sewerage services from the public to the private sector in San Pedro Sula.
Jamaica
A $595,000 MIF grant to support the development of a roads concession system.
Mexico
A $4 million MIF investment in Fondo Guanajuato, which supports small firms, especially start-ups, in the state of Guanajuato.
Nicaragua
A $50 million soft loan from the Fund for Special Operations to support rehabilitation of the Pan-American Highway and the implementation of a sustainable road maintenance mechanism.
A $9.4 million IDB concessional loan to support education reform that will emphasize the introduction of new technologies to improve the coverage and quality of the system.
A $1.4 million MIF grant to promote business services for microenterprise and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Paraguay
A $503,000 MIF grant for a program to strengthen alternatives for dispute resolution in commercial conflicts.
Trinidad and Tobago
A $105 million IDB loan to reform and expand secondary education.
Venezuela
An $824,000 MIF grant to the Instituto de Altos Estudios Sindicales of Venezuela to upgrade technical skills of labor union officials and promote dialogue among labor, government, and the private sector.
Regional
A $5 million to $10 million MIF investment in the Caribbean Investment Fund L.P to support small business.
A $7.5 million IIC equity investment in The Caribbean Investment Fund L.P.
A $3.4 million IDB grant to support development of natural resource management and agricultural technology in Latin America and the Caribbean.
A $1,579,000 MIF grant to fund an initiative to increase the competitiveness of small-scale coffee producers in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
A $1,110,000 grant from the Japan Special Fund and $300,000 grant from the IDB to strengthen the capacity of six Central American countries to prevent or mitigate the most devastating effects of natural disasters.
A $750,000 IDB grant to create a volunteer corps to provide humanitarian assistance after disasters in Latin America.