Austria Development Bank announces soft, long-term financing for Dominican Republic

To provide a response to the need for funding of projects in developing countries such as Dominican Republic, Austria’s Development Bank, Oesterreichische (OeEB) Entwicklungsbank AG, partners with the private sector to develop businesses and an effective, properly working economy.

“Economies in many developing countries are growing vigorously. Yet large numbers of people there still live in great poverty. What they frequently lack is access to education, to employment and to modern infrastructure,” the enhtity says, citing research published by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). “An economy that is working properly is a crucial factor in fighting poverty.”

It notes that to allow the building and spreading of business expertise, only functioning cycles of economic processes and a prospering private sector create lasting employment and incomes.
“Austria wants to provide special support for the close partnering of business and development cooperation,” it says, for which its support is extended both to activities in Austria and in developing countries.

The OeEB’s says that as part of its government-appointed mission and expertise, its mandate is to facilitate and support private sector projects with development benefits and to effectively advance Austria’s goals for international development and foreign trade, and benefits from the international know-how of the OeKB Group.

The OeEB is a member of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), the network of bilateral European development banks, and supports the private sector in developing countries, on commercial terms. “As key criteria, projects must be commercially viable and create lasting benefits for regional economic development.”

The Austrian entity stresses that the market regions it serves are regarded as relatively risky by investors and suppliers. “As a result, tailored financing solutions for a wide range of long-term investments are typically not available in these countries through regular commercial channels, and its special mandate allows OeEB to accept higher of amount, tenor and country risk.”

As to its services the OeEB clarifies that it’s a complement to the respective offerings of the Austrian Development Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Austrian Ministry of Finance, and can also support projects in countries for which no financing from Austrian partners has been possible in the past.

“The services of OeEB are both subsidiary and complementary to those of the commercial banking sector – in other words, OeEB products fill gaps between the products of the commercial banking sector,” it said, whereas to provide additional support to projects, funds from Austria’s federal budget are earmarked for so-called “Advisory Programs,” with funds aimed at concrete and targeted support for projects that boost development.