By Karin Strohecker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank’s private investment arm expects to finance $1.9 billion in projects in Ukraine over the next 18 months, an official from the organization told Reuters.
More than half of that is covered from the International Finance Corp’s own account, while the rest comes from partners such as western governments and the European Commission, said Lisa Kaestner, the IFC’s regional manager for Ukraine.
Some of the funds would come as grants but also in the form of guarantees, which allowed the IFC to shift its focus of investment, she added.
“It will allow us to start looking at investments that are longer-term in nature and more focussed on capital expenditure, so higher-risk – because these are assets that might actually unfortunately be damaged as conflict continues,” Kaestner said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.
The next round would include projects such as river transport on the Danube or energy generation from solar and wind.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the IFC has financed $1.1 billion in projects.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
