Overseas Private Investment Corporation

For Immediate Release

May 13, 2005

For further information, contact:
Lawrence Spinelli (202) 336-8690
Timothy Harwood (202) 336-8744

$75 Million in New Financing Caps OPIC Trip to Pakistan

www.ustda.gov

LAHORE, Pakistan – Ross Connelly, acting president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), today signed an agreement facilitating the provision of $75 million in new OPIC financing to a $100 million Citigroup lending facility in Pakistan. The new OPIC investment guarantee supplements an existing $75 million agreement with Citigroup, and was approved by OPIC’s board of directors in January.

The signing capped a week-long trip to Islamabad and Lahore, during which Connelly and an OPIC delegation met with senior Pakistani officials and representatives of American and Pakistani companies to facilitate increased U.S. investment in the country. OPIC is currently providing nearly $125 million in financing and political risk insurance to projects in Pakistan. Historically, the agency has supported more than 100 projects in Pakistan with over $970 million.

“We came to Pakistan to encourage U.S. investment in this country, and have been encouraged ourselves by the improving investment climate, evidenced by the country’s strong economic growth and political stability,” Connelly said. “Investor interest in Pakistan is likely to be rewarded by positive returns. OPIC looks forward to increasing its support for American investment in the country.”

“OPIC’s on-lending framework agreements with Citigroup have generated strong developmental benefits in host countries, by leveraging private capital, increasing bank-market liquidity, and transferring bank skills and assets,” Connelly said. “We expect that today’s lending framework will produce similar positive results, to the benefit of ordinary Pakistanis.”

OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

OPIC’s political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the agency’s 33-year history, OPIC has supported $164 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate more than 732,000 host-country jobs and $13 billion in host-government revenues. OPIC projects have also generated $69 billion in U.S. exports and created more than 264,000 American jobs.