Fiscal Year 1995: Record Guarantee Volume
Fiscal Year 1995: Record Guarantee Volume
August 1, 1995 — The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) issued a record number of investment guarantees in fiscal year 1995, which ended on June 30. The fifty-four guarantee contracts issued totaled US$672 million in coverage, compared to 38 contracts for US$372.6 million in FY94. MIGA-insured projects in FY95 also exceeded FY94 totals in the amount of foreign investment facilitated (US$2.5 billion versus US$1.3 billion), number of jobs created (an estimated 8,800 versus 7,800), and the number of host countries benefited (21 versus 14). MIGA also signed 10 new commitment letters for US$273 million in potential additional liability during FY95.
MIGA's total outstanding portfolio rose to approximately US$1.6 billion in coverage at the end of FY95. MIGA's 155 issued guarantee contracts have facilitated an estimated US$8.6 billion in foreign direct investment in 36 member countries. In addition, MIGA has eight commitment letters outstanding for US$210 million in potential additional liability.
MIGA insurance in FY95 covered investments in a broad range of sectors and countries. Investment guarantees were issued for the first time in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Morocco, the Philippines, the Slovak Republic, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela, and Viet Nam. MIGA issued significant amounts of insurance (13 contracts totaling US$142 million) for infrastructure investments including MIGA's first power projects in Honduras and Jamaica. MIGA's first project in Tunisia was also the Agency's first oil and gas project.
Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, MIGA's President, was pleased with the operating results of FY95 which saw premium income increase from US$9.9 million to US$14.4 million. He also noted: "I am very optimistic about MIGA's future growth, given the strong pipeline of applications for coverage."
MIGA country membership rose to 128 during FY95 with the addition of seven new countries (Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, The Bahamas, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Viet Nam). An additional 24 countries are in the process of fulfilling membership requirements.
MIGA also provides a range of technical assistance services to developing and transition member countries on the promotion of private investment opportunities. Among these activities, MIGA successfully organized major regional investment promotion conferences on development of the mining sector in Africa and the tourism industry in the Middle East and North Africa, and issued its first CD-ROM on mining investment opportunities in Africa.