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These institutions, coordinated by PROPARCO and in close cooperation with a syndicate of commercial lenders, provided a 10-year non-recourse loan into the financing structure. The extended tenor, which goes well beyond that currently provided by internal commercial banks on an uncovered basis in the Indonesian market, will contribute to the overall financial sustainability of the project and completely eliminate borrower refinancing risk.

The original 135 MW combined-cycle plant was commissioned in 1997 and subsequently expanded to 195 MW in 2008. The current expansion plan, consisting of a 60 MW gas turbine and a 60 MW steam turbine, will contribute to a 61, 5% increase of total electricity output. The 305 MW post-expansion plant will supply more than one third of the output to the South Sulawesi grid. With an electrification ratio of just 58% and forecast growth in demand of 10% per annum, the Sengkang plant will be vital to regional socio-economic development. “Investment in the power sector is paramount for Indonesia. This project will contribute to increased efficiency and thus reduced electricity costs. We estimate that the additional 120 MW will allow 73,000 Indonesians in South Sulawesi to have access to electricity”, said Paul Heinemann, Head of DEG’s Representative Office in Indonesia.

Indigenous natural gas for the Sengkang plant is supplied by sister company Equity Energy Epic Sengkang via a 29 km underground pipeline. Increased use of gas will enable the national electricity company to become less dependent on costly and environmentally unfriendly diesel generators as well as diversify the country’s energy mix. Indonesia’s gas reserves - 6th largest in the world - have the potential to compensate for the country’s declining petroleum reserves. “This project financing will back Indonesia in its efforts to diversify its energy resources. It is in line with the new national energy policy based on growth in production capacity, improved electrification, a shift away from coal and a better balance between public and private power production”, adds Alan Follmar, Senior Investment Officer at PROPARCO.

“This project financing will help meet the growing domestic demand for electricity and will contribute to the development of cleaner forms of energy infrastructure in Indonesia”, said Georges Beukering, Senior Investment Officer at FMO. The increased efficiency of the second combined cycle unit will enable a reduction of 300 tonnes of CO2 per year when compared to the baseline energy mix.

ABOUT

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
www.proparco.fr

DEG (the German investment and development company), member of KfW Bankengruppe, is one of the largest European development finance institutions. For 50 years, DEG has been financing and structuring the investments of private companies in developing and emerging market countries. DEG’s aim is to establish and expand private enterprise structures in developing and emerging countries, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic growth and a lasting improvement in the living conditions of the local population.
http://www.deginvest.de

FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company) is the Dutch development bank. FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. FMO believes a strong private sector leads to economic and social development, empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses
on four sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, housing, and agribusiness. With an investment portfolio of EUR 5 billion, FMO is one of the largest European bilateral private sector development banks.
http://www.fmo.nl
 

While Abidjan Airport handled 1.25 million passengers in 1999, air traffic fellow below the level of 650,000 passengers in 2011. The air mobility index  is today 12.5% below the average in West African countries. Traffic is expected to pick up in the coming years, with double the number of passengers over the next five years.

PROPARCO’s financing is being allocated in the context of the renewal of AERIA’s concession on 1st January 2010 for a 20-year period. This concession provides for five-year investment programs, which can be adjusted depending on the increase in traffic and development prospects. The first investment program, worth a total of EUR 24m, includes the refurbishment of the international terminal building and the upgrading of the charter terminal building. It will also develop the related infrastructure and notably service an area for tertiary activities around the airport. “Given the expansion of the city of Abidjan and the shortage of land reserves, this new business park will be essential for local development. The project will also build a training center for air transport professions, which will give Abidjan Airport regional outreach” says Christian Rognone, Chief Executive Officer of Egis Airport Operation.

Following several years devoted to the maintenance of facilities built in the early 2000s, AERIA has now set out on a new development phase. “PROPARCO is extremely pleased to support the upgrading of infrastructure that is essential for the country’s development. This financing is PROPARCO’s third operation in Côte d’Ivoire and underscores its aim of supporting the country’s return to growth”, adds Etienne Viard, Chief Executive Officer of PROPARCO.

PROPARCO’s loan has a 15-year maturity and will allow AERIA to have access to long-term resources which are lacking at local level. PROPARCO’s operation will be combined with an ambitious environmental and social plan. The development of an environmental, social and safety management plan will be a specific focus.


ABOUT

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
www.proparco.fr

AERIA (Abidjan International Airport) is an Ivorian limited liability company and has been the concessionaire for the management of the Félix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY International Airport in Abidjan since 1996. Following an initial 15-year concession, which made major changes to the platform and turned it into a hub for 2 million passengers, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire renewed the concession with AERIA on 1st January 2010 for a 20-year period. AERIA, along with its main technical partner, EGIS Group, a world leader in engineering and transport infrastructure concessions, is anticipating the future needs and development of Abidjan Airport by providing the most innovative technologies. The new concession will also be used to develop a major service activity area, which will provide Abidjan with effective infrastructure to contribute to the new economic upturn in Côte d’Ivoire.
 

NSIA Group operates in twelve West and Central African countries and is a leader in the insurance sector in the region. It has marked its entry into the banking sector with the recent acquisition of Côte d’Ivoire’s third largest commercial bank, BIAO Côte d’Ivoire, and the creation of the bank BIAO Guinea. It is today the leading bancassurance group in West Africa.

NSIA Group is now seeking to strengthen its organizational structure in order to pursue the expansion of its banking activities, scale up its geographical presence and, at the same time, maintain its current position in the insurance sector. PROPARCO’s loan will allow the Group’s holding company, NSIA Participations, to meet the need to strengthen the capital base of BIAO Côte d’Ivoire and BIAO Guinea, and will also support the growth of NSIA Group’s banking unit. This consolidation will be a critical stage in the Group’s development.

“This financing operation meets the Group’s aim of not only consolidating its activities, but also continuing its development through the expansion of the banking unit in sub-Saharan Africa. It marks the beginning of a real partnership between PROPARCO and NSIA Group in the context of a common approach to sustainable development”, explains Jean Kacou Diagou, Chairman of NSIA Group.

“PROPARCO is pleased to support the development of a high-quality institution such as NSIA Group, which has become a reference in bancassurance in West Africa. This financing marks PROPARCO’s second operation in Côte d’Ivoire since 2011 and will support the country’s return to growth”, points out Etienne Viard, Chief Executive Officer of PROPARCO.

This operation reflects PROPARCO’s conviction that the banking and insurance sector play a leading role in the development of sub-Saharan Africa. It will be combined with technical and financial support that will allow NSIA Group to develop an environmental and social policy in line with the highest international standards. This new policy will allow NSIA Group to strengthen its position as a committed and responsible insurer in sub-Saharan Africa.

ABOUT

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.

NSIA was founded in 1995 and is one of the main financial groups in sub-Saharan Africa. It operates in twelve countries with over twenty subsidiaries. Since its creation, NSIA Group has gradually made a name for itself in the insurance sector, and subsequently the banking sector from 2006 onwards with the takeover of BIAO Côte d’Ivoire, the third largest bank on Côte d’Ivoire’s financial market. At the same time, its ambition has been to achieve its dream of combining its banking activity with its insurance activity. Today, after 16 years in business, NSIA Group, which has a major insurance and banking network in West and Central Africa, is affirming its ambition to become the leader in bancassurance in the CIMA zone by developing retail banking and by implementing monitoring of the environmental and social impact of the projects which are financed and/or insured.

Yet, the mortgage market in Ghana is still at its infancy with mortgage loans representing less than 1% of GDP while the market potential is estimated to be around 6% of GDP. 

Ghana Home Loans was set up in 2006 to address the acute housing shortage by providing long term financing to prospective home buyers. With more than 50% of market share, Ghana Home Loans is the leading actor in a small but fast growing domestic mortgage market. The Company focuses exclusively on the provision of residential mortgage products denominated in either local or foreign currency and with repayment periods going up to 20 years.

PROPARCO’s loan will finance the expansion of Ghana Home Loans’ mortgage activities thereby assisting low and middle-income Ghanaian families in their path to homeownership. “PROPARCO’s investment will help develop the mortgage industry in Ghana, contributing to the country’s economic growth as well as addressing its housing shortage”, points out Julien Lefilleur, PROPARCO’s representative for West Africa.

Commenting on the signing, Dominic Adu observed that PROPARCO's facility is a further endorsement of the Ghana Home Loans track record.  “Ghana Home Loans continues to introduce innovation to the housing market. This facility shall be used to structure a new range of products that should bring home ownership even closer to the average Ghanaian”, added Mr Adu.
This operation reflects PROPARCO’s confidence in the good fundamentals and encouraging prospects of the financial sector in Ghana.

ABOUT

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility. PROPARCO has committed US$ 330M in West Africa (Nigeria excluded), with 16 projects, since 2010.
http://www.proparco.fr/

GHANA HOME LOANS is the market leader in mortgages and the only specialist home finance company in Ghana. Established in 2006 by three Ghanaian promoters and a team of world class financial institutions, the company has already provided financing of over $70m for the acquisition, construction and improvement of homes across Ghana.
http://www.ghanahomeloans.com/

Eolo will also construct a new substation and interconnection lines to enable connection to the national grid. 

Project debt financing of the project is provided by The Netherlands Development Finance Company FMO, (who acted as Mandated Lead Arranger with USD 40 million), PROPARCO, the private sector investment arm of the French development body Agence Française de Développement (with USD 26.5 million) and DEG, Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (USD 25 million).

“The addition of another quality renewable wind project enhances our position as the leading wind producer of power in Central America”, said Mikael Karlsson, Globeleq’s CEO, making reference to its operating wind farms in Costa Rica and Honduras; adding: “The Eolo project enables us to harness a natural and clean resource which will have significant and long term economic and environmental benefits for Nicaragua.” Eolo is in the final stages of its submission as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, which will enable it to earn carbon credits to sell into the international carbon trading markets.

Jay Gallegos, General Manager and Legal Representative for Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy (Wind), commented: “Our renewable energy experience in the region is unparalleled, and this will ensure a successful and efficient completion of the Eolo project. Civil construction works such as land clearing and road work have already begun, and we anticipate testing and operation of the turbines will be complete by the beginning of 2013.” Land rights, environmental and local construction permits have already been obtained. Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy (Wind) will communicate regularly with all stakeholders on the progress of the project.

“All lenders are very pleased to support this important private investment in Nicaragua. Project sponsors Globeleq and Mesoamerica Power have built an impressive portfolio of productive renewable assets in the region which has changed the energy matrix into a cleaner and more sustainable one. With our co-lenders DEG and PROPARCO, we are pleased to work with investors who are committed to renewable energy,” said Nanno Kleiterp, CEO of FMO.


ABOUT

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
www.proparco.fr
 

GLOBELEQ GENERATION LIMITED is an Actis portfolio company and is an experienced operating power company, actively developing energy solutions for the emerging markets of Africa and the Americas. The company develops economically sustainable projects that support the continued development of the electric power sector in these regions.
www.globeleq.com
 

GLOBELEQ MESOAMERICA ENERGY (WIND) LIMITED is a company dedicated to the development, construction and operation of the Eolo wind project in Nicaragua.  It receives support from its shareholders, Globeleq Generation Limited and Mesoamerica Power.
 

MESOAMERICA POWERMESOAMERICA POWER is a Central American investment group focused on the development of renewable energy in the region. Mesoamerica Power is managed by Mesoamerica, the leading private equity mergers and acquisitions and strategic consulting firm in Central America and the Andean Region.
www.mesoamerica.com
 

ACTIS invests exclusively in the emerging markets. With a growing portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Actis has US$4.5bn funds under management. The company is driven by the conviction it brings more than capital to its investment and benefits its investee companies, investors and broader society. Actis calls this ethos the positive power of capital.
www.act.is
 

FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company) is the Dutch development bank. FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. FMO believes a strong private sector leads to economic and social development, empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With an investment portfolio of EUR 5.9 billion, FMO is one of the largest European bilateral private sector development banks.
www.fmo.nl
 

DEG, member of KfW Bankengruppe, is one of the largest European development finance institutions. For nearly 50 years, DEG has been financing and structuring the investments of private companies in developing and emerging market countries. DEG’s aim is to establish and expand private enterprise structures in developing and emerging countries, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic growth and a lasting improvement in the living conditions of the local population.
www.deginvest.de

This ceremony provided the opportunity to present Advans Côte d’Ivoire, which is tasked with serving and financing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that are excluded from the mainstream banking sector by offering them a full range of customized loans and financial services. Guests learned about the methodology that allows Advans to offer loans ranging between FCFA 150,000 and FCFA 50,000,000 to entrepreneurs seeking to develop their economic activities, without the obligation of having prior savings. Advans also offers flexible and easy to access deposit accounts to entrepreneurs and private customers wishing to effectively manage their money and earn interest on their savings.

One month after its opening, the first agency, which is located in Adjamé Municipality, already has over 350 customers who have chosen to use Advans’ services. Over the next 5 years, Advans aims to serve over 45,000 customers throughout Côte d’Ivoire and finance over 16,000 microentrepreneurs for a total outstanding loan portfolio of FCFA 18bn. Advans Côte d’Ivoire has a capital of FCFA 3.75bn through its shareholders Advans SA, SGBCI, FMO, Proparco and IFC.  
“I appreciate the reliability and professionalism of Advans”, says Mr. SORE Yacouba, the first beneficiary of an Advans Côte d’Ivoire loan.
“Advans Côte d’Ivoire aims to support the growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by giving them access to simple and customized financial services with affordable and transparent tariffs. More generally, the aim is to democratize access to high-quality financial services”, points out Grégoire DANEL-FEDOU, CEO of Advans Côte d’Ivoire.

ABOUT

PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
www.proparco.fr

ADVANS COTE D’IVOIRE. Advans Côte d’Ivoire follows on from Cambodia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Ghana and Tanzania and is the 6th subsidiary of Advans SA Group, which was set up in 2005 by Horus Development Finance and several multilateral investors (AFD, IFC, FMO, EIB, KfW and CDC). Advans Group has 2,250 employees worldwide and almost 300,000 customers, including 280,000 borrowers.
Advans Côte d’Ivoire has been formed as a public limited liability company with a share capital of FCFA 3.75bn. It obtained the authorization to operate (under a Framework Agreement) from the Ministry of Finance in November 2010. Advans Côte d’Ivoire aims to contribute to the professionalization of the microfinance sector in Côte d’Ivoire by offering high-quality loans and financial services to a broad public.
www.advanscotedivoire.com