The IFC, the World Bank's financial arm for private sector support, granted a loan of 50 million dollars to Grupo M Holding S. A.
The credit was provided "for the purpose of introducing the swaps market, that is, the transfer of funds in US dollars and currencies from other Central American countries," according to details of a press release from Grupo M.
The Irish-owned Caribbean and Central American mobile telecommunications group Digicel has approached the World Bank, for a loan of between USD50 million and USD75 million to help fund its estimated USD400 million investment to launch commercial services in Honduras.
According to a report on the IFC’s website, as quoted by BNamericas, the World Bank body has applauded Digicel’s credit history and welcomed its plans for Honduras, a country where ‘private financing from local or from international commercial banks without multilateral support is scarce’. The IFC statement went on to say that ‘the entry of an experienced player such as Digicel into the market will encourage the existing mobile operators to invest further in their networks, thereby increasing availability and stimulating improved service standards, the development of value added services, and lower tariffs for consumers.’