Mobilising financing needs: IFC urged to establish new institution

Federal Finance Minister, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, held a meeting with a delegation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) at the Ministry of Finance here on Wednesday. The IFC delegation, led by Nadeem Siddiqui, Country Manager for IFC in Pakistan, attended the meeting on the invitation of the Finance Minister to discuss IFC's portfolio and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
The finance minister appreciated the briefing given to him by Siddiqui regarding IFC's current portfolio and future investment opportunities being explored in Pakistan by IFC. The minister proposed to the IFC to work with the Government of Pakistan to establish a new institution in Pakistan which will mobilise the long-term financing needs for infrastructure projects through the private sector. The minister said that the majority of equity for the proposed new institution may be provided by IFC and other International Financial Institutions (IFI) and Multilateral organisations, while the government may be a minority shareholder. He said that the proposed new institution shall be a private sector led financing platform, supporting development across key sectors in the form of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) or other types of private investments in infrastructure.
Siddiqui said that IFC welcomes the finance minister's proposal to establish a new institution focused on catalysing private sector financing and investment in infrastructure projects. He expressed keen interest, on behalf of IFC, to work with the government of Pakistan to establish the proposed new institution and for IFC to provide equity funding for the institution. He said that the IFC will, in due course, submit a detailing working on the new institution, with a clear action plan going forward, for the Finance Minister's consideration, in order to establish the new institution in a timely and orderly manner.
The finance minister said that the government of Pakistan welcomes all opportunities to partner and collaborate with IFIs and Multilateral organisations for the development and betterment of the country. He highlighted that the present government has already implemented numerous infrastructure projects in various fields during the past three and a half years, and is actively working on the implementation of further infrastructure projects. He said that increased private sector investment in infrastructure projects will further assist in addressing the development needs of the country and generating higher GDP growth.
The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and IFC.-PR