IFC, DEG to support Cargills Bank

Two international organisations have taken a 10 per cent stake each in Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank Ltd (Cargills Bank) with agreements for this purpose being signed on Friday.

The agreements were signed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbh, a subsidiary of KfW.

A joint statement to the media said this is the first time in Sri Lanka that IFC and DEG are simultaneously investing in a local entity. Cargills Bank is also among a select group of banks that have succeeded in attracting investments from these global financial institutions.

Ranjit Page, Deputy Chairman of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, was quoted as saying that the joint investment of IFC and DEG in the bank translates into the immediate accessibility to global expertise and experience in the finan- cial services domain. “This is no doubt a solid start to the venture and we look forward to working closely with IFC and DEG to bring global best practices to the local banking arena. The Cargills Group has a strong foothold in the agriculture sector which would serve us well as we strive to build a unique technologydriven banking model with a special focus towards these under- serviced sectors,” he said.

Adam Sack, IFC Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives said through IFC’s investment, the bank is expected to create over 90,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2019, primarily in the agriculture sector.Speaking on behalf of DEG Hubertus Pleister, Head of DEG’s Asia Department said, “With its innovative business model Cargills Bank will provide financial services also to small businesses in rural areas – an essential precondition for successful growth of the rural economy in Sri Lanka.”