The Inter-American Development Bank approved a US $ 650 mn line of
credit for Colombia to boost investment and the export sector, the
Washington-based bank said Thursday.
“Colombia will help its productive sector remain competitive in the face of increasingly challenging market conditions with a US $ 650 mn credit line for investment projects (CCLIP),” the IDB said in a statement.
The CCLIP “includes an initial USD 100 mn loan,” it added. “Banco de Comercio Exterior de Colombia (Bancoldex) … will use the funds to boost production in all areas of the economy through the financing of investment projects, productive restructuring, and exports development,” IDB said.
“The government of Colombia will provide an additional USD 650 mn for the program, whose purpose is to channel, through intermediary financial institutions, lending to mitigate market deficiencies,” the statement said.
The loan is for a 25-year term with a four-year grace period, at an adjustable interest rate based on LIBOR.While recognising Colombia’s “solid economic performance in recent years,” the IDB said “the current global economic crisis may cause both demand for and prices of its main exports to drop at a time when private international financing is shrinking.”
The IDB on October 13 announced a USD 6.0 bn emergency line of credit for Latin America, the biggest operation in the bank’s 50-year history.