ISLAMABAD -InfraZamin Pakistan is an innovative, for-profit credit enhancement facility funded with equity capital from InfraCo Asia Investments and Karandaaz Pakistan, provided by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). InfraCo Asia, via its subsidiary Indus Guarantees Pte Ltd, and Karandaaz held a signing ceremony for the shareholders agreement, setting into motion the operationalisation of the facility.
As an initiative of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) InfraZamin aims to fill current gaps in the local credit markets, in order to catalyse greater private sector participation in long-term, local currency financing of infrastructure in Pakistan. InfraZamin will do so by providing guarantees to enhance the credit quality of local currency debt instruments to finance creditworthy infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
The first-of-its-kind in Pakistan, InfraZamin was conceived and designed after extensive market study and engagement with the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan and follows on from GuarantCo’s experience with the successful creation and operationalisation of a similar facility in Nigeria, InfraCredit Nigeria. InfraZamin leverages the prior experience of InfraCo Asia and GuarantCo in supporting infrastructure projects in Pakistan, as well as Karandaaz’s local market knowledge and track record of investments focused on supporting financial inclusion.
Incorporated as a private limited company, InfraZamin will operate on a commercial basis guided by international best practices and local governance standards. Its Board of Directors will include representatives of InfraCo Asia (through Indus Guarantees), Karandaaz, and GuarantCo.
On the potential of InfraZamin Pakistan, Allard Nooy, CEO of InfraCo Asia and prospective Chair of the InfraZamin Board said “As a specialised credit enhancement facility focused on infrastructure in Pakistan, we see significant potential for InfraZamin to ‘crowd-in’ underused pockets of liquidity in Pakistan’s financial markets. PIDG Companies GuarantCo and InfraCo Asia bring with them deep expertise and significant infrastructure and credit enhancement capabilities that will help unlock these opportunities for InfraZamin.’’