IFC to invest $7.5m in Myanmar Awba rural finance scheme: report

World Bank subsidiary the International Finance Corporation has announced it will provide US$7.5 million to a business unit of agriculture giant Myanmar Awba, according to regional business website Deal Street Asia.

The funding, which includes $6 million in loans and a $1.5 million equity injection, will be used to underwrite an expansion of Myanmar Awba’s rural finance service, according to the report.

Myanmar Awba, a leader in the manufacture and distribution of fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural products, in February received $10 million from the IFC in a loan-to-equity deal to partially finance the construction of a new $25 million agrochemicals plant in Yangon.

Deal Street Asia earlier reported that the IFC is extending a total of $21 million to around six other microfinance schemes operating in Myanmar.

In recent years the IFC has extended loans to numerous Myanmar enterprises. Yoma Bank received $5 million in 2014 to help the lender improve its corporate governance and risk management practices, while in January retail giant City Mart Holdings was provided with $25 million to build an additional 20 supermarkets across the country.

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