Dec 2007 Financial News

RBTT gets US$40m for SME financing - Jamaican firms in line for loans

Dec 14, 2007

The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) in pumping US$40 million of loan capital into the RBTT group, which will be used to provide financing for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Caribbean, including Jamaica.

The IIC, the private sector financing arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) this week announced the decision to purchase the senior investment notes issued by RBTT, but the specific terms of the deal were not immediately clear.

The Trinidad-based RBTT has operations across the English-speaking Caribbean as well as Suriname and Costa Rica, but it is firms in its major Caribbean markets that are expected to mostly tap into the new capital.

"Given the current distribution of the RBTT Group's portfolio, most of the funding is expected to be channelled to Trinidad and Tobago, followed by Jamaica, Bahamas and Barbados," the IIC said.

It expected that the RBTT, because of the deal, will be able to increase by 11 per cent, the number of SMEs receiving financing from the bank.

"The transaction is the result of IIC efforts in two key areas: targeting SMEs in the Caribbean and promoting the provision in this segment of the market," the ICC said.


Source:
The Jamaica Gleaner
Friday 14th December, 2007

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071214/business/business6.html