IFC PLANS TO LEAD THIRD WORLD TO CAPITAL MARKETS
The International Finance Corporation
is planning to intervene to help certain developing country
companies to borrow on world capital markets, IFC chief
executive Sir William Ryrie told a news conference.
    Ryrie said the IFC is at present seeking to overcome
regulatory barriers to its underwriting business on the United
States and London markets.
    "There are many companies in the more advanced developing
countries which are strong enough to borrow by issuing bonds or
floating rate notes," he added.
    However, such companies needed help and the IFC could play
a role by introducing them into the market and underwriting
issues, Ryrie said.
    "The capital markets would then get used to the idea of
buying the paper of these companies," he added. "There is a
potential source of development finance there which could be
very large."
    He said he was confident there were enough institutional
investors who would be interested in taking paper in the
interests of portfolio diversification.
    The IFC, whose role is to provide international financing
for private sector investments in developing nations, generally
does this by providing pump priming finance to persuade western
companies to invest in third world enterprises.
    However, in recent years it has set up three investment
funds through which institutional investors can hold shares in
developing country stock exchanges.
    It announced the third such fund, one of 30 mln dlrs for
investment on the Thai stock exchange, in December. There is a
120 mln dlr South Korea fund and one of 50 mln dlrs which
invests in a number of developing country stock exchanges.
 REUTER
