ICO and FONPLATA sign a new agreement to enable Spanish companies to fund projects in Latin America

Ph. FONPLATA/ICO
  • Signed under the framework of the ICO International Guarantee Program, the agreement amounts to USD 15 million.
  • This is the second agreement signed by ICO with FONPLATA – Development Bank. The first one, also of USD 15 million funded projects to expand and improve two wastewater treatment plants in Uruguay and infrastructure projects in Bolivia and Argentina.
  • Through the ICO International Guarantee Program, from 2018 until today, the Institute has subscribed 18 funding agreements with 11 agencies, totaling 1.83 billion Euros.

The Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) has signed a new USD 15-million agreement with FONPLATA – Development Bank to fund investment projects carried out by Spanish companies in Latin America.

This is the second agreement subscribed by ICO with FONPLATA, a multilateral regional development organization made up of five countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The first agreement was signed in December 2018. It contributed to fund sustainable projects, executed in partnership with Spanish companies, which had impact on the development of the region:

  • Uruguay: Expansion and improvement of two wastewater treatment plants that ensure adequate wastewater treatment and contribute to the promotion of sustainable management of water resources and the protection of the environment from the adverse effects of wastewater discharges. Within the framework of the EU Sustainability Taxonomy, these two projects can be considered sustainable for their contribution to the achievement of the objective “sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources”. Read more.
  • Bolivia: Purchase of two fire trucks for the Airport of Alcantari. Read more.
  • Argentina: Track infrastructure renovation works in the Sáenz station–Tapiales station section. Belgrano Sur Line. Read more.

ICO International Guarantee Program

Since 2018, ICO has signed 18 Funding Agreements with 11 agencies to channel up to 1.83 billion Euros through the ICO International Guarantee Program, aiming at funding Spanish companies’ internationalization process and export activity.

To date, the ICO International Guarantee Program has provided financial support to 385 projects with Spanish interest, mainly in the sectors of power, gas, and water generation/distribution, construction, and manufacturing industries, developed in the USA, Central America, and other countries of the Americas, especially Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador.

This program transfers the operating scheme of the ICO mediation program to multilateral, state-owned or private promotional banks located abroad. This facilitates the application process and incorporates the entity's knowledge of the local market as an added value. In addition, it allows Spanish companies present in third markets to finance their projects in the local currency of the countries where the investment projects or export activities are carried out.

About ICO

ICO is a corporate state-owned entity attached to the Ministry of Economy Affairs and Digital Transformation, which has become a benchmark in the financing of both SMEs and large investment projects. To this end, it has a comprehensive funding offer for companies of all sectors of activity, sizes, and geographical coverage to promote their activity in Spain and in third markets. Supporting the international expansion of Spanish companies and attracting foreign investment is a hallmark of the ICO Group and one of the essential pillars of its strategy.

About FONPLATA

FONPLATA is a multilateral regional development organization made up of five countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Its main goal is to support the integration of the member countries to achieve a harmonic and inclusive development within and across the River Plate Basin areas of influence, through credit operations and non-reimbursable government resources.

FONPLATA aims at reducing socioeconomic disparities and favoring the complementarity and synergy of efforts of national development organizations and other development agencies through the implementation of small- and medium-sized projects in specific geographic areas to favor one or more countries to achieve a better insertion in the sub-region, the region, and the global market.

07/01/2021

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