Includes how major projects are financed and gives examples where relevant. Explains activities of the multilateral development banks in and other aid-funded projects where procurement is open to U.S. bidders.
Last Published: 3/26/2019
Commercial lenders tend to rely more on collateral than on prospective income and cash flow.  Financing is generally available for short-term (one year or less) private sector projects.  Since the 1994 devaluation, inflation has remained substantially under control.  Banks continue, however, to extend credit only to a limited group of borrowers—mostly large companies—that are deemed good credit risks.  The current lending rate ranges from 12 to 18 percent.  Medium- to long-term infrastructure projects, even private-sector projects, are often financed by foreign aid programs, rather than by commercial banks.

Multilateral lending institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank and the World Bank‘s International Finance Corporation (http://www.ifc.org) provide funding for agribusiness, small business and infrastructure projects.
U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank: http://www.exim.gov/) financing is available for short- and medium-term private sector transactions.  Ex-Im Bank’s Direct Loan Program offers foreign buyers medium- and long-term loans for up to 85 percent of the contract price at fixed interest rates for the purchase of U.S. capital equipment.  Financing also may be available through the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC, http://www.opic.gov) and U.S. Trade and Development Agency (http://www.ustda.gov) depending on the structure and ownership of the project.

Multilateral Development Banks

The Commercial Service maintains Commercial Liaison Offices in each of the main Multilateral Development Banks, including the African Development Bank and the World Bank. These institutions lend billions of dollars in developing countries on projects aimed at accelerating economic growth and social development by reducing poverty and inequality, improving health and education, and advancing infrastructure development. The Commercial Liaison Offices help businesses that create U.S. jobs learn how to get involved in bank-funded projects and how to connect to other parts of the International Trade Administration, including the U.S. Field; the overseas network of Commercial Service offices; and, in Washington, desk officers, sectoral experts and the Advocacy Center.

 
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


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