news - FMO in the lead to support job creation in Sri Lanka

USD 109 million of total USD 153 million syndicated loan for Commercial Leasing & Finance (CLC) in Sri Lanka arranged.

On Friday 18 December, the Dutch development bank FMO has arranged the first tranche of a USD 153 million senior secured syndicated loan for Commercial Leasing & Finance (CLC) in Sri Lanka. The first amount of USD 109 million arranged on Friday will be followed by an expected second tranche of USD 44 million in Q1 2016. The total loan will have a tenor of 5 years. 

FMO provided the loan and acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and Facility Agent. In addition to the USD 20 million provided by FMO, participants include OFID (USD 20 million), Finnfund (USD 11 million), Proparco (USD 10 million), BIO (USD 7 million), ResponsAbility (USD 12 million), Blue Orchard (USD 10.1 million), Symbiotics (USD 9.0 million) and Oikocredit (USD 5 million). ACTIAM-FMO SME Finance Fund provided USD 5 million.

Besides the syndicated loan transaction, FMO – in partnership with other lenders in the syndicate –supports CLC with a tailored technical assistance program to further professionalize CLC’s organization. The technical assistance includes capacity building in the area of environmental, social and governance standards, client protection principles and a management development program focused on leadership and skill training for employees.

CLC’s current MSME portfolio represents over 65% of the total loan and lease portfolio. MSMEs are considered an important backbone for economic growth for the Sri Lankan economy, especially the ones active within the agricultural sector. FMO’s Chief Investment Officer, Linda Broekhuizen, emphasises the importance of the facility, “especially considering the impact it plays on the job creation and strengthening of small businesses. We are pleased to work with CLC, particularly because of its commitment to stimulate entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. We are even more pleased to do this together with so many other lenders who see and believe in the impact of this company.”

CLC’s CEO, Mr. Krishan Thilakaratne, commented: we are pleased to be the recipient of the largest syndication done for a NBFI in Sri Lanka with 10 lenders. As part of the LOLC Group whom many of these partners have a long standing relationship, CLC is committed to continue as a preferred conduit of achieving development goals in uplifting the SME sector of Sri Lanka.

ABOUT CLC
Commercial Leasing & Finance has surged to the top tier of Sri Lanka’s financial service industry, offering varied solutions ranging from leasing, fixed deposits, savings, loans, factoring, working capital and  Islamic Finance. The company’s status is all the more notable considering they have been in the business for over 25 years, a truly impressive feat amidst the competitive and evolving dynamics of the industry. CLC was acquired by LOLC Group in May 2008. Since then it has become one of the flagship entities of the LOLC Group and has propelled to the forefront in the industry by having a strong presence in vehicle/equipment leasing. CLC has become a trusted brand, synonymous with stability and dependability. It plays an invaluable role as a key catalyst in financial empowerment and the inclusion of the "Un-bankable" segment. This is best expressed through their unique operating philosophy - ‘Hithawathkama’ - which captures how the trust and progress of stakeholders are foremost in their priorities as they go forward.

ABOUT FMO
FMO is the Dutch development bank. FMO has invested in the private sector in developing countries and emerging markets for more than 45 years. Our mission is to empower entrepreneurs to build a better world. We invest in sectors where we believe our contribution can have the highest long-term impact: financial institutions, energy and agribusiness. Alongside partners, we invest in the infrastructure, manufacturing and services sectors. With an investment portfolio of EUR 8 billion spanning over 85 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector development banks globally. www.fmo.nl

ABOUT OFID
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a collective channel of aid to the developing countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. http://www.ofid.org

About Symbiotics 
Symbiotics, incorporated in 2004 in Geneva, is an investment company specialized in emerging, sustainable and inclusive finance which offers market research, investment advisory and asset management services. It is an asset manager of collective investment schemes regulated by FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority and has an advisory license from the FCA, the Financial Conduct Authority, through its subsidiary in the UK. The company is headquartered in Geneva, with offices in Cape Town, London, Zurich, Mexico City and Singapore with a staff of over eighty professionals. Since 2004, Symbiotics has invested over USD 2.4 billion in more than 275 microfinance institutions in 50 emerging countries, working with more than 28 investment funds and many institutional investors.

About BlueOrchard Finance
BlueOrchard Financeis a globally leading impact investment manager, specialized in fostering inclusive finance and sustainable growth. BlueOrchard was founded in 2001 by initiative of the UN as the first commercial manager of microfinance debt investments worldwide. To this day, the company has invested over USD 3bn in institutions across 60 emerging and frontier markets, providing access to financial and other services to over 20 million individuals at the bottom of the pyramid. BlueOrchard-managed funds drive attractive double-bottom line returns to private and institutional investors, supranational institutions as well as renowned foundations. BlueOrchard Finance Ltd is an asset manager licensed by the FINMA and its Luxembourg entity is a licensed alternative investment fund manager (AIFM) by CSSF.

About Finnfund - Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd.
Finnfund provides long-term risk capital for private projects in developing countries and Russia. Investment criteria include profitability, social and environmental responsibility and positive development impacts. Apart from co-investing with Finnish companies Finnfund can finance ventures that use Finnish technology, cooperate with Finnish partners on a long-term basis, or generate major environmental or social benefits. Its investments range from manufacturing and forestry to renewable energy, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals. Since 1980 Finnfund has made nearly 350 investments in almost 60 countries. Today we have approximately 540 million euros invested in or committed to 160 projects in 32 countries.

About Proparco
Proparco is a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) devoted to private sector funding – has been supporting sustainable development for almost 40 years. It operates in 73 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and helps finance and support financial institutions and corporate private-sector projects. Today it has almost 400 clients worldwide.

Proparco focuses on the key development areas, such as renewable energy-based infrastructure, agribusiness, financial sector, health and education. Through its work, Proparco has a powerful impact on sustainable economic growth, job creation, access to essential goods and services and, more broadly, on poverty reduction and fighting climate change. With a balance sheet total of €4.6bn at December 31, 2014 Proparco is one of the leading European Development Finance Institutions which together spearhead a large number of joint programmes. www.proparco.fr

About responsAbility Investments AG
responsAbility Investments AG is one of the world’s leading asset managers in the field of development investments and offers professionally-managed investment solutions to both private and institutional investors. The company’s investment vehicles supply debt and equity financing to non-listed firms in emerging economies and developing countries. Through their activities, these firms help to meet the basic needs of broad sections of the population and to drive economic development – leading to greater prosperity in the long term.

responsAbility currently has USD 2.7 billion of assets under management that is invested in around 530 companies in more than 90 countries. Founded in 2003, the company is headquartered in Zurich and has local offices in Hong Kong, Lima, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Nairobi, Oslo and Paris. Its shareholders include a number of reputable institutions in the Swiss financial market as well as its own employees. responsAbility is registered with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. Further information is available at: www.responsAbility.com.

About the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO)
BIO (www.bio-invest.be) is a private company whose capital is held by the Belgian state. The mission of BIO is to support a strong private sector in developing and/or emerging countries, to enable them to gain access to growth and sustainable development with the aim to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. BIO invests directly and indirectly in private sector projects and as such makes a structural contribution to the socio-economic growth of those host countries. Its mandate requires strict criteria in terms of geographical targets, financing tools and, above all, impact on development.

About Oikocredit
Oikocredit is a social investor and one of the world’s largest sources of private funding for the microfinance sector, providing credit and equity to low-income earners and small businesses through microfinance institutions across the developing world. Oikocredit also directly finances trade cooperatives, fair trade organizations and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in other sectors, including agriculture and renewable energy. Oikocredit is an international cooperative that is financed through the investments of over 53,000 individuals and organizations. Investors are offered a positive triple bottom line: social, environmental and financial. In September 2015, Oikocredit’s development financing portfolio totalled € 808 million, invested with 799 partners across 64 countries worldwide. Proximity to clients and knowledge of their markets is at the heart of Oikocredit’s work. The organization’s network of local staff in 33 countries makes this possible.

About Actiam
ACTIAM is a Netherlands based asset manager with a particular focus on sustainable investments. ACTIAM N.V. is the responsible asset and fund manager in the Netherlands; its assets under management are worth € 51 billion (at 30 June 2015). With its sustainable performance, services and advice, ACTIAM helps its clients to achieve their investment goals. ACTIAM firmly believes that financial return and social return on investment can go hand in hand. Corporate social responsibility has permeated deeply into ACTIAM’s business processes and practices. ACTIAM N.V. manages investment institutions as referred to in the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. ACTIAM N.V. has its registered office in Utrecht, the Netherlands, its principal place of business is located at Croeselaan 1 in Utrecht (3521 BJ) and it is registered with the Chamber of Commerce under number 30143634. The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has licensed ACTIAM N.V. to manage investment institutions and ACTIAM is listed in the AFM Register. For more information, see www.actiam.nl.

With its Impact Investing department, ACTIAM operates a department that is dedicated to the development, promotion and distribution of investment funds that, in addition to generating a market-based return for investors, aim to generate positive social and environmental impact in developing and emerging economies.