On 21 May 2015, the Finance Committee of the Danish Parliament approved the extension of IFU’s investment mandate. The new mandate means that in the future IFU can invest in all countries which have been identified as developing countries by the OECD. Thus IFU can invest in e.g. Brazil, Malaysia, Turkey and Mexico again and continue investments in e.g. China and Colombia, which were close to falling outside the scope of IFU’s investments.
– IFU’s goal is to promote economic growth in developing countries through private sector investments; and the extension of the mandate makes it possible to invest in more projects enhancing development and which are of interest to Danish companies and pension funds, said Mogens Jensen, Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation.
– This is a really good decision because it enables us to continue to invest in developing countries as the markets mature and become more attractive for Danish companies, said Tommy Thomsen, CEO of IFU.
Continued focus on the development in the poorer countries
The broadening of IFU’s investment mandate does not mean that investments in the poorer developing countries will decrease, as 50 per cent of IFU’s investments are to be made in low income countries, especially in Africa.
– We maintain IFU’s current focus on poverty, and we hope that the broadening of the mandate will lead to larger revenues which can be re-invested in e.g. low income countries, said Mogens Jensen.
IFU is ready
IFU has years of experience from several of the countries which are now open to investments and is ready to assist Danish companies with risk capital and advice. This also holds true for Latin America, and in connection with the establishment of the Danish Climate Investment Fund, IFU opened an office in Colombia which in future will service IFU’s investments in the region.
– We are well-prepared for the new mandate, and already from the beginning, we will be able to assist Danish companies which contemplate an investment or have actual plans to set up business in one or more of the “new” countries, said Tommy Thomsen.