Mar 2008 Financial News

FCIB banking on energy

Mar 13, 2008

First Caribbean International Bank (FCIB) yesterday confirmed it is strengthening its presence in the energy financing market.

FCIB’s director, Energy Financing, Daniel Sankar expressed optimism in the energy industry during an address at the Energy Financing Unit breakfast meeting at the Paria Suites Hotel, La Romaine, yesterday.

The meeting attracted representatives from oil field supply companies and energy service providers.

“The energy sector is the fastest growing and the largest sector in the Trinidad and Tobago economy, contributing a large portion of the wealth to the GDP,” he said in an interview following the meeting.

He said as a bank FCIB would like to support local content in the energy sector.

“Typically when people talk about local content they always talk about local contractors or local service providers but we would like to see financial services also being part of local content,” Sankar explained.

He said FCIB had supported the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) to the tune of $176 million as a short term floating rate loan for the Port-of-Spain Waterfront Project and the National Gas Company (NGC) with US$400 million.

Sankar, who worked with the NGC for 25 years, said FCIB as a Caribbean bank does not see energy financing being limited to T&T.

“While we are resident here we actually have responsibility for the entire Caribbean,” he said, explaining the bank’s interest in projects in Beliz, Barbados, Jamaica, Suriname among other countries.

FCIB managing director Larry Nath also expressed optimism in the local oil and gas sector for a considerable number of years to come.


Source:
Yvonne Webb
Trinidad Guardian, Page 27
Thursday 13th March, 2008

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business7.html