ISLAMABAD: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, has announced to make equity investment of up to $75 million in Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) through purchase of secondary shares divested by the government.

IFC announced on Monday that its investment will facilitate government’s share sale of HBL ensuring its full privatisation.

Moreover, the equity participation of IFC will posi­tively influence the perception of local and international investors regarding HBL and Pakistan.

IFC says it will continue to collaborate with HBL to scale up SME lending by providing targeted advisory services, focusing on segments that have particularly low levels of access to finance such as women entrepreneurs, rural and agricultural communities, and to develop its digital finance capacity.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2015

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