Posts by Financial Institutions
What have we learned after a decade of public-private partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Until the end of 1990, Latin America and the Caribbean was the region with the greatest proliferation of public-private partnerships (PPPs). At that point, investments plummeted, partly due to negative reactions caused by its deficient implementation. In 2005, thanks to the joint efforts of public, private sector, and multilaterals, PPPs became again a widely used tool. Driven by the fall in commodities prices, the increase of fiscal deficits, and the improved conditions for implementing PPPs, many countries established specific institutions and strengthened their regulations. As a result, investments through PPPs grew almost five times, from US$8 billion in 2005 to US$39 billion in 2015. In barely one decade, Latin America and the Caribbean has registered US$361.3 billion in investments for almost 1,000 infrastructure projects through PPPs, primarily in the energy and transport sectors. PPPs potentially can help to overcome some of the public-sector limitations but they also raise concerns. Large-scale projects involve many technical, financial, environmental, and social risks. PPPs demand greater attention to risks assignment, conflict resolution, and the analysis of “value for money.” They also require institutional development that takes time to consolidate and, when it is poorly done, can even increase costs and reduce services or its quality. Transparency is also key to mitigate the risk of corruption, which has become more visible in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years. In this context, multilateral development banks can play a key role supporting the development of proper environments for attracting private investment, supporting independent projects preparation, and helping to bridge financing gaps. These banks, also have a potential comparative advantage: their ability to be directly involved with the public and private sectors. 10 keys for strengthening the multilaterals’ support for PPPs The Office of Evaluation and Oversight has reviewed IDB Group support for PPPs in infrastructure projects at three levels: favorable environment, project preparation and financing, besides other development banks’ experience. These banks financed a small (3%) but considerable proportion of PPP’s investment in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB Group provided the most financing (35%), among these entities, with 145 approved operations for US$5.8 billion between 2006 and 2015. Based on our conclusions, the Evaluation of Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure, published last March presents 10 recommendations: Specific diagnostics: identify and evaluate potential demand for PPPs by country, including analysis of infrastructure needs in the sector, PPPs environment, fiscal limitations and risks, and type of support needed by the governments. Priorities: include a general framework to determine which countries and sectors need support, type of support needed, and define priorities. Focal point: establish a PPP focal point with sufficient authority and resources to promote collaboration among all parties involved in the institution. Capacities: do an inventory of existing capabilities, identify what is missing, and try to attract and maintain the necessary capabilities. Incentives: reform the incentives, granting rewards when private investors’ funds are mobilized and creating incentives for collaboration. Advisory services: Analyze infrastructure projects in the pipeline, and advise countries regarding the most suitable delivery model, regardless of the sector that will originate the operation. New products: Explore the use and development of new financial and advisory products tailored to the countries’ specific needs, such as local currency financing, advisory services, specific instruments supporting subnational governments, and project preparation mechanisms. Results framework: examine the value for money of PPPs operations, the quantity and quality of the services provided, costs to the taxpayer and the user and its sustainability, in addition to evaluating whether critical environmental and social objectives have been met. Knowledge: Design a specific knowledge strategy on PPPs to systematically capture and file the results of operations and lessons learned. Lessons learned:Systematically incorporate lessons learned by your own organization and other banks on the design and implementation of new PPP operations. Many Latin American and Caribbean countries with solid capacity for implementing PPPs have an extensive list of potential projects, and practically all the larger countries have an infrastructure investment program in which PPPs play a fundamental role. Moreover, since in some of the region’s most important economies the ratio between private investment and gross domestic product (GDP) continues to be low, there is a considerable margin for new projects. The development banks are well positioned to play a fundamental role in these future PPPs, providing support to ensure their suitability in economic, environmental, and social terms, to generate favorable environments that attract private investments, and to close the financing gaps. Only if these recommendations are implemented will we be able to contribute to a wave of successful PPPs and avoid the negative reactions we have seen in the past. The IDB Group has accepted the recommendations and is ready to put them into practice. Subscribe to receive more content like this! [mc4wp_form]
Financing value chains: A need for speed
The technological revolution has come to stay in finance, bringing with it a transformation in how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in value chains obtain financing and streamlining relations between anchor companies and their suppliers, customers, and collaborators. How does it work? Imagine a company that manufactures aluminum auto parts in Mexico, the principal anchor between the metal supplier and the customer who buys the finished product. The supplier requests the payment as soon as possible, within 30 days, due to its limited working capital. However, 270 days elapse from the time when the company receives the supplies and produces the parts until the sale of the final product. Clearly the money cycle does not match, and the company must pay for its purchases before producing the parts, making the sale and even charging the customer. Existing market conditions make the situation even more difficult, and the increase in aluminum prices does not allow price adjustments from the company to the customers at the same pace that price metal fluctuates. This means that costs for the company increases more rapidly than the final price of its products. Not only Mexico’s automotive industry suffers from the complexities of the cash flow ratio (between the average period to pay the supplier, process the supplies, and collect from the customer), it is even worse in other industries, such as supermarkets. Moreover, the World Trade Organization says that half of all SME requests for financing are rejected, compared to only 7% of the requests made by multinational companies. Access to appropriate and timely financial services for all actors in the value chain is key to achieving successful results. Not only large companies, large producers and traders need access to appropriate financial services suited to their money cycles; small producers need them even more for their survival and financial balance. Thus, value chain financing seeks to fill the gaps created in the anchor company-supplier relationship, as well as to mitigate the perceived risks through innovative ways of providing financial services. But what is the relationship with technology? Value chain financing requires trusting and durable relationships among the different actors and financial institutions. Each party involved must know and understand the other. Access to innovative and flexible financial products and services is vital. Financial technology (fintech) companies help to make this happen and ensure that financing is flexible, transparent, reliable, and accessible 24/7. Fintech companies are a bridge between the anchor company’s requirements and its suppliers and collaborators, through technologies applied to banks’ middle and back offices. By using internet platforms, fintech allow millions of SMEs to access loans, under conditions equal to those enjoyed by larger and more established companies, the missing piece in the puzzle without any doubt. Most financial innovation companies in Latin America and the Caribbean have arisen in the region’s largest markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile. Alliances between fintech companies and financial institutions have been key to bringing promising solutions to scale. But it is not simple. IDB Invest is an essential part of the value chain financing circuit in the region, through strategic alliances with its clients (the region’s large anchor companies) and fintech firms. These alliances allow IDB Invest to support the base of the pyramid in Latin America efficiently. The first step was taken in Mexico, where a framework contract was signed with the fintech eFactor, a Mexican company that offers electronic factoring services for the discount of credit rights derived from the demand for goods and services by large buyers. This marks an important milestone for IDB Invest in its value chain financing transactions and in the creation of scalable and efficient solutions. You can also see more on the impact of the fintech revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean in this full report. Subscribe to receive more content like this! [mc4wp_form]
Why is social inclusion good for agribusiness?
By 2050, a 60% increase of food production will be required, with only a 12% increase in arable land. Considering the social and demographic implications for agricultural producers, finding solutions to include them in production chains is a must. Latin America and the Caribbean region is the largest net exporter of food worldwide. Furthermore, the region has a third of the global fresh water resources, more than a fourth of high-to-medium potential production lands, and around 40% of biodiversity. However, the region has 14 million small-scale family farming, in vulnerable situation, who occupy 80% of the farms, produce 35% of lands, and provide between 40% and 50% of food, according to the study “The Next Global Breadbasket: How Latin America can Feed the World”. Gaps among agricultural producers Whether to raise cattle in Paraguay, grow coffee in Colombia or soy in Brazil, all kinds of agricultural producers are involved in the process, from large businesses to small producers and smallholders, including cooperatives. Although there are also intermediary actors, like in Argentina or Uruguay where larger scales are achieved by leasing lands. This is an already proven business model where the producers are not necessarily land owners. However, among these different types of producers there are gaps that are increasingly evident in terms of scale, access to financing and markets, and technology application. This issue is even more evident among small producers: only 5% has access to formal borrowing, and the continuous fragmentation of land ownership due to the inheritance factor (many times resulting in flawed titles) works against them when trying to achieve minimum scales. The key factor of this gap arises from the climate change effects (which is more evident in Central America due to the narrow distance between both oceans) that, together with scarce and expensive financing, price volatility, increasingly sophisticated technological advances, and climate insurance limitations, impact family farms income. As result, younger generations choose to migrate to large urban centers instead of continuing working in family farms, and thus an important social structure of rural communities keeps on deteriorating. In Mexico alone, the number of people living in rural areas decreased from 57% in 1950 to 29% in 1990, and 22% in 2010, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía de México (Inegui). David and Goliath’s tale Meanwhile, the consolidation of producers could help the so-called “new generation of cooperatives” and other association forms to achieve larger production volumes to leverage their negotiation power. Along these lines, geopolitics and the global struggle to supply commodities continue being strategic for certain countries, and could become an opportunity for producers. The entry of the Chinese company, COFCO, after acquiring Nidera and Noble Agri, or the purchase of Agro Amazonia in Brazil by the Japanese Sumitomo Corp., are proof of this situation. While on the other side of the chain, if the regulating entities approve the mergers of Bayer-Monsanto, Dow-Dupont, and Syngenta-Chemchina, these companies would control 60% of the seed/biotechnology business, and 70% of the agrochemical industry. How to promote inclusion in production chains So, what can be done to promote inclusion in production chains? While some companies focus their acquisition strategies to purchase commodities from large-scale producers, other companies seek to develop their smaller clients, not only driven by a more social approach, but also because according to FAO, they have a productivity growth potential of 30% to 50% in sugar cane, dairy, and cattle production. To close the productivity gap, a likely and sustainable solution for small producers is long-term financing, provided by investment banking —through trust funds or similar vehicles—, in association with anchor businesses assuming part of the risk and supporting them with technical assistance programs. An example of this trend is the structured financing implemented by IDB Invest (formerly known as Inter-American Investment Corporation) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), together with ECOM —a global coffee business— and Starbucks for coffee producers that have been affected by rust disease in Nicaragua. This article was originally published at the Huffington Post. Subscribe to receive more content like this! [mc4wp_form]
Development finance institutions and private sector innovation
By Andre Averbug Development finance institutions (DFIs) can play an important role promoting innovation for increased competitiveness and sustained development in their client countries. Properly executed programs and projects can leverage private investment placement, develop local capital markets, improve resource allocation, as well as avoid moral hazard.
Five reasons FinTech companies are an opportunity for financial institutions and SMEs
By Greg Da Re Access to financing has been and continues to be the main obstacle facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to a recent survey, 90% of all banks surveyed in Latin America and the Caribbean consider SMEs strategically important for their business, yet 44% acknowledge that their portfolio lacks suitable financial products for such enterprises.
Financial inclusion just a click away: E-wallets and payment platforms
By Valentina Echeverry, Opportunities for the Majority; and Sergio Navajas, MIF. In Latin America, 60 percent of the population lacks access to financial services, equivalent to approximately 250 million people. However, mobile phone penetration is between 90 and 100 percent. In some countries, such as Colombia, penetration is 105 percent. This indicates that most people have a mobile device and some, even two. What role do mobile wallets and payment platforms play in financial inclusion?