OPEC Fund Grants $7bn Loan to Developing Nations
Disburses $4.7 billion
By Mike Oduniyi,
The OPEC Fund for International Development, a multilateral development finance arm of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has extended loans totalling $7.098 billion to mostly developing countries as at July 2004.
Disbursements by the Fund has reached $4.764 billion, the insititution said in a statement.
Details of the disbursement include, public sector financing of:
745 project loans valued at $4.308 billion
42 program loans amounting to $314.8 million
185 balance of payments support loans worth $724.2 million
25 HIPC Initiative loans totaling $174 million.
It also include private sector financing of 58 operations valued at $292.1 million; 676 grants worth a total of $312.8 million; and contribution of $110.7 million to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Trust Fund.
The Fund said that by the end of December 2003, contributions pledged by OPEC member countries totalled $3.435 billion with some $2.920 million paid-in.
OPEC Fund was established in January 1976, by the member countries of OPEC including Nigeria, with the principal aims
of promoting cooperation between OPEC member countries and other developing countries as an expression of South-South solidarity, and to help particularly the poorer, low-income countries in pursuit of their social and economic advancement.
To achive these goals through extending concessionary financial assistance in the form of loans for development projects and programs and for balance of payments support; providing grants in support of technical assistance, food aid, research and similar activities, and humanitarian emergency relief; contributing to the resources of other development institutions whose work benefits developing countries; serving OPEC member countries as an agent in the international financial arena whenever collective action is deemed appropriate; and by participating in the financing of private sector activities in developing countries.
Beneficiaries of the loans are all developing countries, with the exception of OPEC member countries.
The least developed countries, however, are accorded higher priority and have consequently attracted the greater share of the Fund's resources.
So far, 111 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe have benefited from the Fund's financial assistance.
The Fund has also cooperated, over the years, with a myriad of multilateral, bilateral, national, non-governmental and other organizations worldwide, joining resources and efforts to assist developing countries.
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