NEWS

 

European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI)

JOINT ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS FOR EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT FINANCE PROVIDERS

EDFI stands for “European Development Finance Institutions”. The group includes DEG along with 17 other finance providers which support the private sector in developing countries. In total, their portfolio amounts to more than EUR 15 billion.

EDFI is committed to jointly launching and supporting environmentally sustainable investment. The adoption of common standards is designed to promote this aim. Accordingly, EDFI members have come to an understanding about shared environmental and social requirements: as well as deciding on a joint definition of environmental and social categories and an exclusion list of projects which must not be co-financed, members have harmonised their requirements in respect of project reviews and minimum contractual obligations.

National requirements in the investment countries formed the basis while internationally recognised environmental and social standards like those of the World Bank Group and the International Labor Organization (ILO) provided a benchmark. This gives the clients of EDFI members clear guidelines about the environmental and social requirements generally attached to any finance.

Source: DEG Horinzons 1/2008

Portugal’s SOFID Joins EDFI

Sociedade Financeira para o Desenvolvimento (SOFID) joined as EDFI's 16th member on February 1, 2008. SOFID was created on October 11, 2007 as a limited liability company with the Portuguese State holdin g 59,9% of the shares, 40% of the shares being equally shared among four Portuguese commercial banks, BCP (Banco Comercial Português SA.), BES (Banco Espirito Santo), BPI (Banco Português de Investimento,  Portuguese member of EDFI until 2001), CGD (Caixa Geral de Depósitos) and 0,1% held by the Portuguese Association for Economic Development and Cooperation. SOFID has a starting capital base of €12.5 million.

SOFID will finance and invest in project companies in developing countries together with private Portuguese investors. It envisages to cooperate extensively in cofinancing projects with the EDFI members as well as other bi— and multilateral DFIs. SOFID’s priority target countries will be the Lusophone African, Latin American, and Asian countries, notably Brazil, China, India and East Timor.

Source: Newsletter February 2008.