ABL, KAFALAT hold seminar

World Bank’s MIGA offers cross-border guarantees for investments less than $10 million

The Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) held a seminar for bankers on the cooperation program between KAFALAT and the Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank (MIGA).

MIGA insures cross-border investments made in its member countries, provided that investors are not nationals of the country where the investment is being made. KAFALAT and MIGA signed a co-operation agreement in February 2011.
Through the agreement, KAFALAT offers application assistance to businesses seeking to invest from outside into the country, and local businesses wanting to invest in countries covered by MIGA.

The Chairman of KAFALAT SAL, Khater Abi Habib stated the five kinds of risks covered by MIGA: War, Terrorism, and Civil Disturbance; Currency Inconvertibility and Transfer Restriction; Expropriation; Breach of Contract; Non-Honoring of Sovereign Financial Obligations.

The agreement is mostly concerned with the small investment program (SIP), which covers investments of ten million dollars or less. For an investment to be eligible for MIGA coverage under the SIP, the project enterprise must fulfill two of the following three criteria: No more than 300 employees, total assets not more than $15 million, total annual sales not more than $15 million.