History

FMO is created and grows to a NLG 70 million operation.

1970

• 8 July: FMO, the Netherlands Development Bank was established by The Netherlands Overseas Financing Company, owned by Dutch businesses, and the Threshold Programme from the Dutch government. Linked exclusively to Dutch companies, FMO invests primarily in Indonesia, Tunisia and West Africa (mainly Ghana).

 1971 FMO’s First 3 projects are approved by the project committee:

• NLG 250,000 Equity participation in Les Réfractaires de Tunisie S.A., a joint venture between a Dutch and a Tunisian partner, to build a refractory stone factory.
• NLG 1,000,000 in loans provided to P.T. Java Pelletizing Factory Ltd., a Dutch-Indonesian joint venture used to build a copra- and coconut-oil extraction factory that will use plant remains as natural, pelletized animal feed.
• NLG 8,000,000 loaned to P.T. Perusahaan Bir Indonesia, a company majority held by Heineken, to build a beer brewery

1972

• 12 financing initiatives are provided primarily to Dutch and European joint ventures in the form of commercial and concessional loans as well as equity. 
• FMO projects from the past two years now provide employment opportunities to 3750 local employees.

1973

• At the end of 1973 FMO has 25 projects under management in 9 countries, for a total approved amount of NLG 58,000,000. 
• Out of these, 8 projects are in Indonesia (over 50% of approved amounts) with 7 smaller projects in Tunisia (11%).

1975

• A large part of investments now cover the textiles & garments industry, primarily in Tunisia. 
• FMO now finances 7 manufacturing companies with specialty products ranging from trousers, men’s shirts, ladies coats, baby shoes and jackets to ladies underwear. 
• FMO is also financing spinning and weaving mills in the Ivory Coast and Indonesia.

1976

• FMO’s approved financing in the combined sectors of agriculture, agri-industry, fishery and fish processing industry, forestry and wood-processing industry has increased from 12.3% to 37.5% in just three years.

1977

• A new FMO Act comes into force, forming a new relationship with the Dutch government. 
• FMO finance will now be connected to local companies in local markets and not just ‘Dutch interests’. 
• With 51% of shares, the Dutch government becomes the major shareholder.
• The ability to grant concessional loans are increased and the possibility to grant subsidies created. 
• FMO task can now provide technical assistance to companies in developing countries.

1978

• With a new locally-focused, assistive vision, deal flow increases substantially.
• 23 projects are approved, 8 of which are in respect of technical assistance for primarily agricultural or agri-industrial projects.

1979

• FMO approves a record 38 projects – 15 in respect of technical assistance and feasibility studies.
• Financings totals NLG 70, a jump from the NLG 30 million from preceding year.

A new agreement between the Dutch government and FMO is signed. FMO will become a self-supporting organization. FMO's business takes a flight.

1990

• A new agreement between the Dutch government and FMO is signed – meaning that FMO will have to stand on it’s own in the future, no longer relying on the Dutch government for financial assistance.
• Institutional changes transform FMO into a fully independent bank, informally supervised by the Dutch Central Bank.

1991

• FMO’s small-scale enterprise program has now funded 14 specialized financial institutions in 12 countries, reaching an estimated 6,000 small, local businesses.
• 143 direct financing projects now amount to NLG 596 million in financing that has directly created an estimated 60,000 direct jobs. 
• An estimated 5 Dutch guilders in productive investment has been created per guilder invested by FMO.

1992

• FMO experiences record activity – it’s investment portfolio now exceeding NLG 1 billion. 
• The quality of FMO’s loan portfolio has improved.
• FMO already manages an additional investment promotion and technical assistance program for Eastern Europe, and expects to make its first investments in the region as well as in the republics of the former Soviet Union.

1998

• A new agreement between the Dutch government and FMO is signed. FMO can now borrow in the international capital markets subject to the guarantee provided by the Dutch government.

1999

• Assessment of environmental and social (E&S) matters now  becomes a formalized, integral part of FMO’s credit approval process. Employment and labor conditions at financed companies have been assessed since FMO’s inception, with environmental effects having been assessed since the beginning of the decade.
• FMO organizes the first Environmental Management Course in 1999, with participants from 12 financial institutions.