Dominica is among Small Island Developing Commonwealth States that has been selected as a pilot for a special scheme that will allow them to obtain easier access to international trade finance. The Commonwealth Small States Trade Finance Facility was launched this week at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London. According to the Commonwealth Secretariat, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Malta have provided $5 million capital to the scheme. Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of Baroda are the facility managers.
The Secretariat acts as a guarantor on loans secured to develop trade and sustain economic and social development. The Commonwealth Secretariat said in a statement ‘This guarantee could release $100-million incremental trade finance over 3 years, to any of the 31 Commonwealth nations classified as small states” The Commonwealth’s Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, described the scheme as ‘innovative.’ She said, “This new scheme is an example of the innovative and collaborative approaches that are pioneered by the Commonwealth; they have a hugely positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people in our smaller and more vulnerable member countries. Without such a scheme, small states find it difficult to access the funds they need to diversify their economies and build inclusive prosperity by expanding trade. This impairs their ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.” The Trade Finance Facility has taken five years to develop by a working group including the International Finance Corporation, Government of Malta, Central Bank of Malta, Export Import Bank of India and the Commonwealth Secretariat. The Secretariat said, “This working group developed a mechanism in the form of a guarantee facility, that will encourage international banks to offer higher trade finance lines to financial institutions in the small states, by reducing their credit risk. The concept is based on a highly innovative use of blended finance that seeks to achieve maximum impact with minimal levels of official assistance. The facility is hosted and administered by Malta.” The scheme will be launched in the spring. The Bahamas, Botswana, Brunei, Dominica, Fiji, Mauritius, Namibia and Seychelles, have been selected as pilot countries.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Q95 NewsCurrent and past news stories. Archives
April 2024
Categories |