Luxembourg, 14 March 2016 – The Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) has signed a facility agreement with Banco Multiple Promerica de La Republica Dominicana for a USD 9 m green financing facility. The funding will primarily be used for energy efficiency in SMEs.
Banco Multiple Promerica de La Republica Dominicana is part of the Promerica Financial Corporation group. The bank has in recent years focused on SME and corporate lending, and has a historical background in consumer lending. GCPF invests in two other subsidiaries of Promerica Financial Corporation in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The bank will use the GCPF loan for financing energy efficient lighting, air conditioning, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal heaters, efficient boilers and fuel conversion of vehicles, primarily in SMEs. The GCPF Technical Assistance Facility has funded a green lending consultant team to analyze the market for such equipment, and develop and implement the launch of specialized products accordingly.
This partnership marks the first GCPF investment in the Dominican Republic, which has an expensive and highly polluting energy supply. Most of the primary energy in the Dominican Republic is sourced from imported non-renewable energy sources, particularly oil products. The dependency on fossil fuels is particularly marked in the electricity sector, which uses over half of the imported oil, coal and gas for power plants that generate over 80% of local electricity supply. Moreover, electricity is expensive, ranging from USD/kWh 0.15 for average residential electricity to USD/kWh 0.25 for average commercial electricity prices. The high prices shorten the payback periods for investment in energy efficiency and incentivize more investment in auto-generation from renewable sources.
Hampton Castillo, Executive President of the bank, commented on the agreement “We are delighted to partner with GCPF in order to create interesting and attractive green lending products for our clients. The supply of energy can be unreliable and expensive for many businesses and facilities, so we aim to finance solutions that improves their lives and operations. The Technical Assistance support from GCPF, comprising of green lending specialist consultants, is invaluable for developing the products.”
Claudia Arce, chairperson of the GCPF, stated “Partnering with Banco Multiple Promerica de La Republica Dominicana enables GCPF funding to stimulate clean energy and energy efficiency investment in a country new to the Fund. I am very happy that we have partnered with an institution dedicated to expanding this new business line and that can realize the value brought about by such a partnership”.
GCPF Contact
Global Climate Partnership Fund S.A., SICAV-SIF
14, Boulevard Royal
L-2449 Luxembourg
info@gcpf.lu
Banco Multiple Promerica de La Republica Dominicana, S.A. Contact
Banco Promerica de La Rep. Dom.
Av. Roberto Pastoriza No. 420
Torre Da Vinci, 9th Floor
Ensanche Piantini, Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic
servicio@promerica.com.do
About the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) www.gcpf.lu
The Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) is an innovative public-private partnership dedicated to mitigating climate change through a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in emerging and developing markets. It focuses on financing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, directly and in cooperation with local financial institutions, thereby creating a positive impact on the local environment and economy. The Global Climate Partnership Fund is a Luxembourg-based fund managed by the Swiss asset manager responsAbility Investments AG, the world's leading private asset manager in development investments.
About Promerica Dominican Republic www.promerica.com.do
The Banco Multiple Promerica de la Republica Dominicana, S. A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Promerica Financial Corp (PFC). This group is composed by a set of companies that operate individually in the financial sector but owned by PFC. The company was incorporated in 1991 in Nicaragua, with the establishment of the National Bank of the Production, for then to expand its operations through processes of acquisition and expansion throughout Latin America. It currently has operations in nine countries: Bank of Production BANPRO (Nicaragua), St. Georges Bank (Panama), Banco Promerica (El Salvador), Banco Promerica (Ecuador), Banco Promerica (Costa Rica), Banco Promerica (Guatemala), Banco Promerica (Honduras), St. Georges Bank (Cayman Islands), and Banco Promerica (Dominican Republic).
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