World Bank arm strives to boost investment in Myanmar

YANGON, Dec 14 (Xinhua) : The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private investment arm of the World Bank Group, is striving to boost investment in Myanmar which is expected to reach about 400 million US dollars by the end of June 2015, up from 92 million dollars as of November this year, the semi-official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday.

It also sees increase with its investment in the country to over 1 billion dollars over the next three years with a focus on development of its private sector, IFC said in a statement.

IFC vowed to continue to work with the Myanmar government and the banking sector to strengthen the country's infrastructure and financial market to boost sustainable growth.

IFC is set to scale up its support for infrastructure and focusing more on such key sectors as power, telecommunication and transport, especially on Myanmar's Central Bank in developing at least one credit bureau by June 2016.

IFC is helping in the sustainable growth of Myanmar's banks through good risk-management practices, expanding financing to businesses and contributing to the country's economic development.

IFC carried out banking risk management training program in June this year, introducing participants to global best practices in integrated risk-management structures and processes, covering various types of risks including credit, operational, market and liquidity.

IFC, together with the World Bank, is supporting reforms and investments in Myanmar to strengthen the private sector and create jobs to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity.

In 2013, IFC provided 3.5 million USdollars in nearly 9,000 loans to individuals and micro businesses in the country.