Above: the Chinese Embassy in Kingston

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Inter-American Development Bank and the People’s Bank of China have approved a new fund to support private and public sector projects that promote “sustainable economic growth” in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The China Co-Financing Fund, which will be managed by the IDB, is the first of its kind to be established by China and a multilateral development bank.

China will be providing $2 billion in funding.

“China is a key partner for the Bank’s mission to alleviate poverty and inequality in the region,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno. “This partnership is another example of our efforts to promote greater South-South cooperation to narrow funding gaps in sectors with high developmental impact and enhance the social and economic impact of our projects. It will serve as a benchmark for future models of cooperation with China and other countries.”

The $2 billion will co-finance up to $500 million of IDB public sector loans and as much as $1.5 billion for loans made by the bank to private sector entities.
China’s funds will be available for the next three years for public sector projects, and the next six years for “non-sovereign guaranteed operations,” according to the IDB.

The projects include those seeking to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality, boost private sector investment, improve competitiveness and promote gender equality, the bank said.