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Washington
International project finance services are normally engaged on
the basis of a Mandate agreed upon with the project's sponsors or potential
investors. This Mandate may call upon Washington International
to perform some or all of the following tasks during project preparation
and implementation:
A detailed onsite analysis of the proposed investment is conducted, and
due diligence on the sponsors, their operations and proposed long-term
role in the project is carried out, with the aim is of improving project
formulation and the likelihood of financial success in the international
marketplace.
Washington International directly prepares or assists the
client in preparing an Information Memorandum or Business Plan designed
to demonstrate the attractiveness of the investment to potential equity
or debt financiers. Besides describing a soundly designed, well-structured
and bankable project, this document also provides technical and financial
background information, and describes the proposed funding structure and
potential funding sources.
Washington International normally stays with its clients
after initial "Road Show" presentations, providing active support
and assistance during all phases and steps of the financing mobilization
process, particularly during the negotiation stage, and ending with the
closing of a satisfactory project finance deal.
Following the completion of the financing, Washington International
is ready, at the client's request, to provide further support in the form
of ongoing management advisory services during project implementation
and beyond.
Washington
International sectoral expertise and project examples include:
•
Agroindustry,
including a subspecialty on the production, processing and marketing of
organic and natural foods;
- Financing
by IFC and DEG of AgroGuayabito, S.A., a $32 million industrial tomato
and asparagus production and processing project in coastal Peru, (AGIC).
- Financing
of the expansion and diversification of a $40 million project for the
largest dairy and juice producer in the Dominican Republic, (WTIG).
•
Electric power generation
with an emphasis on renewables;
- Financing
of the Río Bobos 10 MW/$18 million mini-hydroelectric project in
Guatemala, from the feasibility study to the information memorandum phases
(AGIC).
- Assisting
a local electricity distribution cooperative to attract a foreign partner
and successfully bid for the privatization of a 100MW gas-fired power
plant in Neuquen, Argentina (WTIG).
•
Transportation,
including ports and highways, and telecommunications;
- Elaboration
of pre-feasibility studies and support for financing Manzanillo International
Terminals, a $110 million private container port on the Atlantic Coast
of Panama (AGIC).
- Financing
by the Inter American Investment Corporation of the first VSAT telecommunications
project ($45 million cost), in Argentina (WTIG).
•
Capital markets
including the set-up and operation of private equity funds;
- Organization
and ongoing management of "Estrella Americana", the first and
still the largest private equity investment fund operating in Chile, (Intl.
Links).
- Organization
and startup of two private pension fund management companies in Argentina,
(Intl. Links).
•
Housing and urban infrastructure finance,
including water, wastewater and solid waste management;
- Municipal
infrastructure development in the Municipality of Soyapango, El Salvador,
arranged locally through a private bank and CABEI (AGIC).
- Merger
of the Quito water and sewerage companies, assisted by legal and financial
specialists (Intl. Links).
•
Private higher education;
- Financing
of expansion program of large private university in Brazil (WTIG).
•
General manufactoring
and consumer goods;
- A $45
million financing by the IFC of the expansion of manufacturing facilities
and debt restructuring of Brazil's largest ceramic tile producer (WTIG).
- Financing
by IFC, DEG and a bank syndicate of a $100 million expansion by the largest
consumer goods company in Central America (WTIG).
The
following selections from a long list of past assignments are examples
of Washington International areas of expertise in consulting and advisory
services:
In Ecuador, one of our principals, sub-contracted by Price
Waterhouse, worked as Senior Adviser for the Government of Ecuador on
capital markets legislation and the formulation of a capital markets development
strategy (1992). He also worked in Bolivia where he carried
out an evaluation and prepared two-year strategic development plan for
the National Securities Commission focusing on means to stimulate the
issuance of private sector debt and equity instruments (1991).
In Argentina, one of our principals worked as a consultant
of the World Bank in the design (1994) and then in the final assessment
(1999) of the Capital Market Development Technical Assistance Project.
In Costa Rica, the principal advised the government on its
financial sector reform, working closely with the Central Bank, the National
Securities Commission, the Social Security Agency and the Ministry of
Finance (1993).
One of our principals was the leading consultant for the World Bank in
the design and implementation of the financial component of the Enterprise
and Financial Sector Restructuring Project in Latvia (1993-2000).
The work included the creation and supervision of a second-tier lending
unit that provided term funding to selected commercial banks for a variety
of new financial products, including project finance, leasing and housing
mortgages. The work done included the successful implementation of a capitalization
scheme aimed at privatization of Unibank, still a leading commercial bank
in Latvia and now controlled by a Swedish group.
A team of twelve local and foreign experts headed by one of our principals,
under contract with the Government of Mexico, assessed interest
rate policies and business practices of two leading development banks
in the country-NAFIN and BANCOMEXT-and made recommendations geared to
improve these banks' pricing and business policies, so as to help with
the recovery of investment and activity by private enterprises (1995-96).
The same principal led an international team that formulated a comprehensive
strategic plan for the restructuring and re-capitalization of the "Financiera
Nicaragüense de Inversiones" (FNI), a leading financial institution
in Nicaragua (1996).
As a consultant for the World Bank, one of our principals worked in the
preparation of a strategic assessment of the prospects and options available
for the development of housing finance in Latvia (1999).
As a follow-up, he was hired by the Government of Latvia to revisit the
issues raised one year later and to propose specific financial instruments,
including international credit and guarantees, to provide additional support
for the development of the local mortgage market (2000). He also has written
on housing financing practices and on social housing issues in Chile.
His research has been presented in various international seminars.
In India, one of our principals directed a nine-person team
of Indian and international professionals in conducting a nationwide evaluation
of the Indian housing finance system for USAID and the National Housing
Bank. (1998)
Retained by the InterAmerican Development Bank to direct a team of specialists working on the reactivation of the private home mortgage loan market in Nicaragua, including the development of suitable vehicles for securitization and other forms of secondary market refinancing for mortgage loans. (1998)
One
of our principals was retained by Central American financial group
and the IFC to assist in the conceptualization, analysis, and presentation
of a proposed Central American home mortgage bank, designed to securitize
home mortgage loans originated by banks and savings and loans operating
in the region, and to sell mortgage-backed securities to both Central
American and international institutional investors. (1996)
One of the principals worked in the design and implementation
of an equity fund in Chile, which was successfully launched
in the early nineties. This closed-en fund was designed to make equity
investments in unlisted medium-sized private companies in need of additional
funding for their expansion plans.
One of our principals conducted a survey of institutional investors
in El Salvador and Panama, including private
insurance companies and both private and public sector pension fund management
organizations, to determine their capacity and interest in participating
in long-term financing of urban infrastructure projects and other municipal
investments. This study was prepared for USAID's Regional Urban Development
Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RUDO/LAC), based in Guatemala
City. (2000)
One of our principals worked on the implementation plans and funding proposal
for the Fundacion Covelo, a non-profit NGO established by the association
of industrialists of Honduras to provide funding and technical
assistance to specialized lenders working with small and micro-enterprises
in Honduras. Plans adopted include the expansion of the population receiving
credit services from approximately 14,000 small and micro-enterprises
in 1994, to over 50,000 by end-1998. (1995)
One of our principals is participating in a World Bank-sponsored
project that is trying to establish state-sponsored mortgage credit insurance
and other forms of credit enhancements in Latvia (2001).
This individual also has prepared a position paper for the World Bank
on the use of insurance and guarantee instruments to promote the development
of housing financing in the Baltic region (2001).
One
of our principal was hired by the Central Bank of Costa Rica
to assist them in meeting some of the first-tranche conditionally associated
with a financial sector reform operation, including (i) the design and
implementation of new long-term debt instruments targeted for the local
capital market by the National Treasury; (ii) the creation of the new
unit of account linked to the CPI to be used to issue new long-term Treasury
bonds, (iii) the drafting of new investment regulations for the portfolio
of the government's social security agency, and (iv) the drafting of legislation
for private pension funds and the securities market (1993).
In Uruguay and at the request of the Central Bank, one of
our associates developed a program to establish a system of benchmarks
to improve management of the international reserves portfolio. The study
included a diagnosis as well as recommendations to improve the profitability
from the international financial assets under management, including recommendations
for new investment instruments.
A
team of our associates worked in Nicaragua as consultants
for USAID assessing the status of the financial sector reform, including
a thorough analysis of the quality of the Central Bank prudential regulations
and of the banking supervisory system in place in the country (1994).
Similar work was conducted in this country for the World Bank in recent
years, particularly to assess the strength of banks and improve the legal
and regulatory framework of the banking sector.
Since 1994 and until recently, teams of our associates have advised on
the restructuring process of the Superintendence of Banks in Dominican
Republic. The consulting team was involved in the generation of
prudential norms for the banking sector, performing bank auditing, on-site
inspection of the asset portfolio (loans, investments and other assets),
institutional analysis of banks and implementation of corrective measures
and adjusting plans to those not fulfilling the necessary capital requirements,
including training and participating in the process of selecting the personnel.
One
of our principals worked as part of a World Bank team that designed and
appraised a technical assistance project for capital market development
in Argentina (1994). Afterward, the same individual was
in charge of making the final assessment of the actual implementation
results of the project, which contributed to the institutional strengthening
of the National Securities Commission and the development of private pension
funds and their supervisory agency (1999).
In
Chile, a team of our associates advised the Association
of Pension Fund Management Companies (AFPs) on the improvement of the
Chilean social security legislation, particularly on investment valuation,
accounting procedures and investment rating mechanisms (1992).
One of our principals worked in Ecuador in specific proposals
for the amendment of the investment policy and practices of the Ecuadorian
Institute of Social Security (IESS). This project was sponsored by Inter
American Development Bank (1993).
A team headed by one of our principals was hired by the Ministry of the
Interior of Argentina to make the final assessments of the
First Provincial Development Project and the Provincial Reform Loan implemented
with the financial support of the World Bank (1999). These programs supported
major fiscal and financial reform in practically all provinces during
the nineties. The work for this client also included the articulation
of strategic proposals for new programs by the Federal Government of Argentina
geared to further deepen the provincial reform. Our team also formulated
a specific proposal for this client of a new technical assistance project
to support the consolidation of a lasting fiscal equilibrium in the Argentine
provinces (2000).
For the Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Ecuador,
one of our principals undertook a wide range of activities primarily related
to successful negotiations of a Stand-by Agreement with the International
Monetary Fund, a two-year rescheduling with the Paris Club, and the attempted
rescheduling of Ecuador's $5.7 billion external commercial bank debt.
Also prepared short-term studies on tax policy and tax administration
-- credited with having significantly influenced the design and implementation
of a comprehensive tax reform by the succeeding Ecuadorian administration
-- and assisted in negotiations with the World Bank and Japan's Export-Import
Bank for a $250 million Financial Sector Reform loan. (1987-1988).
One of our principals worked as a World Bank consultant in the Public
Enterprise Reform Execution Project in Argentina, which
provided technical assistance for the privatization and restructuring
of public enterprises in the telecommunication, oil and gas and railway
sectors. This work included the preparation of the final assessment of
the project after its completion (1996). The principal also prepared the
final assessment of the World Bank's Public Enterprise Reform Loan in
Uruguay, which provided technical assistance for the improvement
of regulatory frameworks and the reduction of public participation in
telecommunications, ports, commercial air transport and power generation
and transmission.
One of our principals worked, as a consultant of the World Bank, on various
residual asset resolution issues that arose from the privatization of
some 17 public provincial banks in Argentina (1998). The
work included an assessment of the situation and the preparation of a
position paper on the resolution of residual banking assets.
In conjunction with a team from CS First Boston, one of our principals
conducted a comprehensive analysis of privatization options in the industrial,
agricultural and financial sectors of El Salvador for the
country's principal private sector foundation, which was seeking to establish
an agenda for the then incoming Cristiani Administration. Available options
were analyzed on both conceptual and practical grounds, and case studies
on the approaches and experiences of four other Latin American privatization
programs were prepared.
One of our principals, retained by Coopers & Lybrand, LLC and USAID,
led a team of six market and sectoral development specialists in the assessment
of options for recovery and development of Haiti's private
sector, including assembly manufacturing, agribusiness, tourism and handicrafts
productions (1997). Later, the principal also led a team of eight consultants
to support work of the U.S. Government Inter Agency Task Force assembled
to help with shelter and urban infrastructure reconstruction in Honduras
and Nicaragua following the destruction caused by Hurricane
Mitch (1999).
At the request of a consortium of major enterprises of Mendoza and San
Juan provinces in Argentina, a team of our associates carried
out a feasibility analysis of a private regional pension fund (1992).
The concept was later on implemented by our team, resulting in a regional
private pension company (Fecunda AFJP), one of several emerging from the
reform of the social security sector in Argentina (1993-95).
A
team of our associates provided consulting services for a large American
insurance company and a group of investors in Poland in
order to evaluate the potential for developing a local private pension
fund, including the assessment of the proposed legislation and the formulation
of recommendations for the development of this line of business in the
country (1997).
In
Ecuador, a team of our associates worked on the design
and implementation of the project that merged the water and sewage companies
servicing the city of Quito (1993-94).
One
of our principals has been working with a state agency in Latvia
and various players in the local financial market on assessing the feasibility
and convenience of securitizing private sector receivables in the hands
of the government (2001).