Santo Domingo, December 14, 2020- The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) announced today that it will participate with an amount of up to US$50.0 million as a strategic investor within the "Private Capital Fund for Infrastructure Development in Central America (KorBCIE)."

This financial instrument aims to create a Private Equity Fund that will invest up to a maximum of US$1 billion, mainly in projects in countries in the Central American region, including Panama and the Dominican Republic. It is estimated that the KorBCIE will mobilize some US$3 billion considering the mobilization of third-party resources through co-financing schemes.

The Fund will allow the countries of the Central American region to position themselves as an attractive investment destination and may serve as an accelerator to add international investors, especially from the Republic of Korea.

CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, mentioned that "the Bank's participation in the KorBCIE is another step towards the consolidation of the relations between CABEI, the countries of the Central American region and the Republic of Korea. In the same line, he indicated that this initiative brings with it the transfer of knowledge and experience to our countries, especially through the use of the Korean New Deal fundamentals, a national initiative of the Republic of Korea to promote the design and execution of projects focused on climate change and digital transformation for the creation of employment as a response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."

Likewise, Dr. Mossi stated that a significant participation of the private sector is needed in this stage of reactivation of the countries' economies considering the increase of the sovereign debt and the reduction of the governments' fiscal spaces as a consequence of the attention to the effects of the COVID-19 emergency, so this type of financial mechanism will complement and encourage the financing provided by the private sector.

The estimated duration of the KorBCIE is 15 years, with a five-year investment period and 10 years for project disinvestment.