devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
CITY BSLF II Until recently, foreign exchange (FX) liquidity funding for banks in Bangladesh was provided only by Bangladeshs Central Bank  Bangladesh Bank (BB) - through the countrys robust reserves.  However, since the beginning of 2011, as part of the pre-conditionality for a US$1 billion program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), BB has ceased to provide direct FX liquidity support to banks.  This development has resulted in an acute systemic FX, mainly US Dollar (US$), liquidity squeeze in the banking system.    The lack of FX liquidity has negatively impacted the timely issuance of L/Cs by banks, particularly for small and medium enterprise (SME) clients.  Since the bulk of the Bangladesh economy is value-added (imports, processed then re-exported), the ability to issue L/Cs on a timely basis is critical to the well-functioning of the economy.  Hence, to mitigate the adverse impact of the US$ shortage on the countrys trade flows and the SME sector, BB is now permitting select local banks with licensed offshore branches, to meet their short-term FX requirements from the international market.   The proposed project is a direct response to the prevailing FX liquidity crisis and is in line with the World Banks and IFCs strategy of promoting economic growth by providing access to finance to underserved market segments and promoting international trade. The Project consists of a short-term loan and a participation in IFCs Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) to The City Bank Ltd.s (City Bank or the Bank) offshore unit to support foreign currency trade and working capital financing for the Banks SME clients. The Project is expected to have the following specific development impacts: -     Financial Market Deepening: By providing local banks with much-needed FX liquidity and facilitating their access to the commercial loan market, the Facility will help deepen the financial sector by establishing a level playing field between local banks and foreign banks operating in the local market that have an advantage due to support of parent funding.    -	     Demonstration Effect: The demonstration effect of the IFC funding will encourage international banks to finance the local banking sector and increase the range and availability of funding options in the market.   -  	Economic Growth Acceleration: The Facility will help accelerate economic growth in Bangladesh by providing SMEs and exporters with trade finance solutions to finance their working capital needs and pay for critical value chain imports.   -	      Job Creation and Job Loss Prevention: By providing much needed working capital support to SMEs, the Facility will help create new jobs and also prevent job losses resulting from business interruption, particularly in an economy where the poor are mainly employed as daily wage workers.
Hamza Textiles Hamza Textiles Limited (the Company or HTL) provides dyeing and finishing services for fabrics that are utilized in the manufacturing of Ready-Made Garments (RMG) by its sister concerns. Finishing facilities include activities such as stenting, compacting, continuous tumbler drying, continuous washing, brushing, continuous bleaching, shearing, all over fabrics coating etc. Economy-wide effects: The Project will support the Group to increase process and product complexity, and strengthen its vertical integration, by modernizing the fabric production facilities which in turn will improve profitability and quality of products. In addition, the Project will enable the Company to reduce its lead time to end apparel retailers. 

Employment Growth: The Project has a strong employment effects and will create 930 additional direct jobs and hundreds of jobs in the value chain. Beyond the large numbers of jobs created, there will also be significant upskilling and training of workers. 

Competitiveness: This Project, and IFC's sectoral focus in the RMG sector in Bangladesh is expected to contribute to preserving Bangladesh's competitiveness as a global player in the textile and apparel market. 

Resilience: IFC expects the Project will demonstrate to the other players the necessary investments required to be agile and resilient considering possible future shocks in the market. The Company plans to use the financing to implement agile manufacturing through process modernization and better technology
Badsha Textiles Ltd. The proposed investment is to contribute to a financing package of up to US$40 million (IFC Loans), including IFC A loan for up to US$10 million, Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP) of up to US$10 million and a loan from the IDA PSW Blended Finance Facility (IDA PSW BFF) which is subordinated in liquidation, of up to US$20 million to Badsha Textiles Limited (BTL) belonging to Badsha Group, the largest yarn manufacturer in Bangladesh and one of the top-tier, vertically integrated sweater and woven garment manufacturing and exporting groups in Bangladesh.  The IFC Loans will support setting up of a greenfield spinning mill with a production capacity of 70,373 MT per year to manufacture premium cotton, viscose, blended cotton, cotton denim, poly cotton yarns (the Project). Economy-Wide Impacts: The Project will enable Badsha Group to further expand the capacity of it spinning operations, strengthen its manufacturing supply chain, and ensure better quality control. IFC anticipates that the Project will contribute to Bangladeshs economy by helping the downstream entities of the Group as well as other RMG exporters of the country to produce higher value-added garments. The Project also has a strong employment effect and will create thousands of additional direct and indirect jobs and female employment in the value chain.

Competitiveness: By increasing the local availability of high-quality yarn, the Project would reduce the lead time in the knitting and RMG sector, which is a key requirement of international buyers, and thereby contribute to preserving Bangladeshs competitiveness as a global player in the textile and apparel market.
MAL - PRAN Project The group of companies known as PRAN Group (PRAN or the Group) was established in 1981 and is the leading branded food and beverage group and the largest agro-processor in Bangladesh. The Group is a well-known household brand in Bangladesh, and produces more than 400 food products in at least 10 major categories including juices and drinks, snacks, dairy, spices, confectionary and frozen foods. PRAN exports to 134 countries around the world.      The project is to support long-term working capital financing as well as financing of additional capital expenditures for wafer and aseptic lines, as well as maintenance capital expenditures at PRAN entity Mymensingh Agro Limited (MAL or the Company) for a total project cost of approximately US$56.8 million (the Project). By supporting MAL's capacity to sustain operations during this COVID pandemic, IFC helps position the private sector to support the economic recovery process, shortening the time it will take for the most vulnerable to return to their traditional income-earning opportunities. The most significant, expected Project-level outcome is helping the Company maintain its operations thus preserving employment levels and economic activity throughout the value chain, especially through sourcing relationships with local farmers. Beyond the Project, IFC anticipates that contribution to market creation will be through enhancing the sector's resilience to withstand the impacts of the crisis.
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         The project consists of a short-term loan (Working Capital Solutions, WCS) for up to US$50 million, consists of a mobilization of US$30 -US$40 million through IFC led B-Loan investments and IFC own investment of up to US10  US$20 million in Dhaka Bank Limited (the "Bank" or "Dhaka Bank") to support the expansion of the USD denominated trade business of the Bank through its Offshore Banking Unit. This will be the first syndication for a Financial Institution in Bangladesh with commercial banks as investors, hence creating a market for international commercial banks to invest in syndicated loans to Banks in Bangladesh and enhancing the Banks access to finance. 
       
       
           
       
       
         The financing provided is a fit with the World Bank and IFC strategy of promoting economic growth by providing access to finance to underserved market segments and promoting international trade, thereby leading to improved competitiveness, job retention and creation. It is also aligned with financial inclusion pillar under IFCs country strategy for Bangladesh, as the mobilization component is expected to creating markets for private sector investors. 
       
       
           
       
       
         Dhaka Bank commenced operations on April 06, 1995 and publicly listed in Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchanges. The Bank has total assets of $2.8 billion as of September 30, 2017. i. Improved Access to Finance: The Project will increase access to finance for credit-constrained, export-oriented companies and SMEs to meet working capital requirements. It will also expand financial intermediation.
ii. Job Creation: IFC's investment will further support business growth and spur job creation in the SME and export-oriented segments.
iii. Boost Export Competitiveness: The project will help economic growth in Bangladesh by providing exporters with trade finance solutions to their working capital requirements and assist in payments for imports utilized. This, in turn, improves their working capital cycle, thereby providing a boost in exports.
DBL Group Project DBL Group (DBL or the Group), an existing IFC Advisory Services client and one of Bangladeshs largest and most reputed integrated knitted apparels manufacturers and exporters, has approached IFC to finance its knitted fabric, yarn and sewing thread dyeing expansion project (the Project) undertaken by the Group company Color City Limited (Color City, the Company or the Borrower). The proposed greenfield Project, with a targeted operational date of June 2014, will increase DBLs dyeing capacity by 22 metric tons (MT) for knitted fabrics and 12MT for knitted dyed yarn (including 3MT for sewing thread). The proposed Project is Phase II of Color Citys expansion plan. Phase I, currently under implementation with DEG financing and expected to go online in January 2014, will increase DBLs knitted fabric dyeing capacity by 28 MT. After implementation of both phases, Color City will have total dyeing and finishing capacity of 62MT and is expected to operate at 75% capacity utilization in the first year to fully cater to the Groups forward-linked ready-made garment (RMG) units requirements. 1.	Job creation: The Project will create 850 new direct jobs, as well as temporary jobs during construction. Since dyeing and finishing is physical labor-intensive process, most of the employees will be male. However, being the first state-of-art dyeing facility of the country, the Company will diversify local workers'' skill-set and trigger learning curve on textiles dyeing operation. Moreover, the factory will adhere to international occupational, health and safety standards, thereby, offering better environment to improve workers'' quality of life.  2.	Technology transfer: DBL intends to adopt global best practices in terms of lean manufacturing concepts, factory efficiency, worker productivity and energy efficiency, which will set an important example for  and potentially elevate productivity and efficiency standards of the overall industry.  3.	Boost local competitiveness: The Project is expected to boost Bangladesh''s knit apparel industry competitiveness by enhancing local dyeing and finishing capacity, which will enable DBL and other similar Groups to move towards higher value products.  4.	Benefit to the government: The Project will generate tax revenues for the Government of Bangladesh.
M&J Garments M&J Group is one of the top tier denim garment manufacturing and exporting groups comprising of three cut and stitching plants and two washing plants. The proposed Project involves capacity expansion of three entities of M&J Group through increasing denim manufacturing capacity at Columbia Garments Limited (CGL) and Columbia Apparels Limited (CAL) and washing capacity at Columbia Washing Plant Limited (CWPL) (collectively the Borrowers or the Companies). The Borrowers capacity will increase from 11.65 million pieces per year to 15.45 million pieces per year for both readymade garments (RMG) and washing, with this expansion. The proposed expansion will be carried out at the existing locations of the three Companies in Gazipur, Bangladesh. Economy-wide impacts: The Project will enable the Companies to move up the manufacturing complexity curve to more value-added products and services. IFC anticipates that the Company's operations will contribute to Bangladesh's economy through increased exports and backward linkages to the local supply chain. The Project also has a strong employment effect and will create thousands of additional direct and indirect jobs and female employment in the value chain. 
Competitiveness: This Project and IFC's sectoral programs in the RMG sector in Bangladesh are expected to contribute to preserving Bangladesh's competitiveness as a global player in the textile and apparel market, by helping Bangladesh move towards higher value-added production.
Summit Bibiyana II Power Company Limited The Project is a greenfield 341MW gas based combined cycle power project located at Bibiyana in the Habiganj district in Bangladesh. The Project will be implemented by Summit Bibiyana II Power Company (SBPCL or the Company), a special purpose vehicle incorporated in 2010 under the laws of Bangladesh.  In 2010, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Bangladesh''s main state-owned power utility, awarded the Project on a build, own and operate basis, to a consortium consisting of Summit Industrial and Mercantile Corporation Ltd. (SIMCL) and GE Energy LLC (GE), which was selected as the winning bidder through an international competitive bidding process. The Project will sell power under a 22 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to BPDB. a) Bridge power deficit through clean energy: The Project will be one of the large IPPs to be commissioned in Bangladesh, which currently has severe power deficit. By using gas and using combined cycle technology, the Project expects to set a benchmark for generation of low cost clean energy in the Country.  b) Providing greater access to energy: Power produced from the Project is expected to reach about 5.7 million consumers in Bangladesh.  c) IFC stamp of approval: Participation from IFC in one of the large power projects will provide a stamp of approval for the bankability of these projects, which will in turn help attract serious interest and investments in power sector of Bangladesh.  d) Simulate private sector development: Implementation of large scale power projects like Bibiyana II will send a strong signal for improvement of infrastructure in Bangladesh which in turn is expected to simulate private sector investments in other sectors.  e) Employment generation: The Project is expected to generate employment opportunities (both direct and indirect) during construction and operational phases.
City Bank Equity The project comprises an investment to take up to a 5% (post money) stake in common shares of The City Bank Ltd (City Bank or the Bank) through a preferential allotment for a total investment amount up to BDT 1.32 billion (approximately US$17 million equivalent at current exchange rate). In addition to the common shares, the project will also include a 3-year senior loan for an amount of US$20 million, convertible to the Banks common share at the expiry at IFCs option. The financing provided is a fit with the World Bank and IFCs Financial Institutions Group (FIG) strategy to strengthen financial institutions (FIs) with equity capital, liquidity support and advisory services.  The Bank commenced operations from 27th March 1983 and has total assets of US$2.6 billion as of September 30, 2015. 1.	Impact on Financial Sector Development:  The Bangladeshi financial sector is under-developed and the country''s banking system requires considerable improvement.  The Project will promote financial intermediation by using the broad regional network of City Bank to reach SMEs.  Additionally, this Project will create a demonstration model for existing banks, encouraging them to strengthen capital position, improve corporate governance and operational standards.  The Project will promote further competition in the Bangladeshi banking sector by giving borrowers across the country greater access to banking products.  2.	Supportive to Bangladesh FIG strategy:  A key pillar of Bangladesh FIG strategy is strengthening the financial system through capital infusion in select banks and supporting improved corporate governance.  Higher non-performing loans ("NPLs") and regulatory tightening (including BASEL III requirements) translates into higher capital needs. Various estimates peg banking sector capital requirements in excess of US$1 billion that will not be all available through domestic capital alone.  3.	Support Corporate Governance Improvement Efforts:  IFC would be supporting the Bank''s efforts to improve corporate governance, and other potential program as well could be explored with the Bank.  An IFC-appointed director would be an important addition to the existing board.  4. Demonstration Effect:  The IFC funding will encourage other investors to provide capital to the Bangladeshi banking sector to support asset growth.
Ananta II Project table, .k-table{ border-collapse:collapse; width:100%; table-layout:fixed; margin-bottom: 15px;} .k-table, .k-table td, table, table td {outline: 0;border: 1px solid #000; } .k-table td, table td { padding: 5px; }       The proposed transaction is an A loan in Ananta Apparels Limited (AAL or the Company). AAL is setting up a washing plant (the Project) in its readymade garments factory located at Adamjee Export Processing Zone of Bangladesh. IFC will invest up to US$6 million in long term debt. The proceeds of the IFC loan will be used to fund the machinery of the washing plant. -	Enable backward integration and allow efficiency gains: The Project will allow backward linkage support to AAL, helping to increase efficiency through cost and time savings, and helping to access orders with higher value addition. 
-	Addressing climate change: The Project will include use of efficient water consumption, heat absorption and other techniques to improve energy and resource usage efficiency, which will have a demonstration effect on addressing climate change issues in the RMG industry of Bangladesh.
-	Employment creation: The Project will help create 1,369 direct jobs upon being commissioned.
Agrocorp Corporate Loan Agrocorp International (Agrocorp or the Company) is a mid-scale agricommodity trader headquartered in Singapore that is the largest supplier of wheat and pulses to Bangladesh. Agrocorp sources commodities from over 40 key origin countries and has customers in 30 countries, from Asia to Sub Saharan Africa. It trades over 12 million metric tons (MT) of commodities annually, dealing in staples such as pulses/legumes, wheat, rice, maize, soybeans, raw cashew, sugar, grains, oilseeds, and cotton. The Project will support the Companys working capital facilities in Canada and Australia, ensure the smooth running of Agrocorps facilities, and increase flows of wheat and pulses towards Bangladesh. Access to working capital is essential for agri-processing. The most significant, expected Project-level outcome is the impact on consumers in Bangladesh through the provision of safe, nutritious, and calorie-rich staple food. Beyond the Project, IFC anticipates that its financing will promote greater market resilience via market enabling channels.
SA MSME Facility The proposed investment consists of senior unsecured loans of up to US$160 million in the aggregate for the Banks, with each of loan being for a tenor of two years and the option to rollover for an additional two years for a maximum tenor of four years. IFC proposes to make an A loan to each of (i) City Bank Plc, for an amount up to US$50 million; (ii) Prime Bank Plc, for an amount up to US$40 million; (iii) Eastern Bank Plc, for an amount up to US$20 million; and Bank Asia Plc, for an amount up to US$50 million.  The aggregate amount of the A loans will not exceed US$160 million. The proposed IFC investment will support working capital and long-term financing needs of MSMEs, including women-owned SMEs.      The projects will be supported by a pooled first loss guarantee of up to US$40 million provided by International Development Agency IDA Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility (IDA-PSW BFF). Expected Development Impact of the Project

Project level outcome: Increased access to finance for SMEs Access to finance remains a constraint for growth of SMEs in Bangladesh.  According to the IFC MSME Finance Gap study The financing gap for Bangladesh MSMEs is estimated at approx. US $39 billion, equivalent to 20 percent of GDP .  Through this project IFC will support the partner banks to provide much-needed liquidity for SMEs, enabling them to grow their SME portfolio and thus increase access to finance for the sector.  

Market level outcome: Resilience: IFC anticipates that this project by providing access to medium-term funding in USD to financial institutions to support the growth of its SME portfolio, will facilitate these banks working capital, trade finance, and foreign currency liquidity needs and strengthen their ability to absorb shocks imposed by the current macroeconomic environment. The project is expected to demonstrate to other investors the viability of supporting financial institutions in Bangladesh by helping the market deal with the growing uncertainty and catalyzing investor response.
Pran Natore Agro Pran Group (Pran or the Company) is seeking IFCs assistance to finance the expansion of its food processing operations. The proposed expansion project has been incorporated as a new private limited company, Natore Agro Limited.  Pran is a diversified group involved in the production and sale of a wide product range covering beverages, snacks, culinary products, confectionery, dairy products, rice and tea.  The Project (Pran Natore Agro) consists of an investment of approximately $25 million for the expansion of Prans food processing and manufacturing capacity with the goal of introducing new packaged food and spice/condiment products to the Companys product line for both local and export markets. Agriculture accounts for 21% of Bangladesh's GDP, whereby 55% of the country's population derives its income from the sector.  Private sector involvement will ensure continued growth in income-generating agriculture activities, particularly by integrating small farmers into formal supply chain linkages such as those that Pran's operations have established. 

In addition to creating over 1,200 new jobs, the proposed Project will positively impact the livelihood of several thousand farmers and their communities by ensuring consistent demand and fair pricing for their produce. Further, Pran's unparalleled distribution network will enable the Company to reach under-served, impoverished communities and provide them with affordable, essential food products of high quality.