KfW makes record commitment of EUR 9.7 billion: significant rise in support for developing countries and emerging economies

Frankfurt am Main (ots) -

- KfW Development Bank: almost 40% of all new commitments go to
Africa and the Middle East
- More than EUR 3.0 billion committed for projects relating to
refugees
- EUR 4.7 billion for global urban development
- EUR 1.6 billion for business investments by DEG
- 1.5 million employees in businesses financed by DEG

In 2017, KfW further increased its commitments for financing and
promotion in the field of development cooperation on behalf of the
German Federal Government to EUR 9.7 billion (2016: EUR 8.8 billion).
Of this total, KfW Development Bank commited EUR 8.2 billion, and DEG
EUR 1.6 billion. The activities of KfW Development Bank and DEG span
531 projects in developing countries and emerging economies.
Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East accounted for
EUR 3.7 billion (2016: EUR 3.0 billion) of total funding.

"KfW has once again set a new record in its support for developing
countries and emerging economies. This growth is due to a significant
extent to funding in Africa and the Middle East and reflects the
increasingly important role that our commitment is having in these
regions in contributing to peace and addressing the root causes of
migration," said Dr Joachim Nagel, member of KfW Group's Executive
Board.

KfW Development Bank again increased its commitments further,
setting a new record high. Last year, around EUR 8.2 billion in
financing was provided to developing countries and emerging economies
(2016: EUR 7.3 billion). Around 55% of financing was earmarked for
climate change mitigation and environmental protection projects.
Almost 40% of all new commitments go to development projects in
Africa and the Middle East; 65% of the Federal Government's budget
funds are channelled to this region.

Internationally, KfW Development Bank currently oversees 117
ongoing projects directly related to refugees in 28 different
countries with an overall volume of more than EUR 3 billion. A total
of EUR 1.2 billion of new commitments were allocated for projects in
this area in 2017. The regional focus of involvement in this field is
also the Middle East. These funds will reach around 11 million
refugees and people living in the host communities.

KfW also makes a significant contribution to sustainable urban
development around the world with EUR 4.7 billion and 58% of new
commitments, for example with financing for the metro in Lima, the
water supply in Timbuktu and flood protection in Tegucigalpa, the
capital of Honduras.

Alongside budget funds, which stem primarily from the Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW
Development Bank committed own funds amounting to EUR 4.9 billion
(60%). In this way, it helps the German Federal Government to meet
its international objectives and obligations in the fields of poverty
alleviation, climate change mitigation, environmental protection and
- increasingly - supporting crisis regions.

DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, also had a successful financial year in
2017. It pledged about EUR 1.6 billion to finance investments by
private companies in developing countries and emerging economies, and
thus maintained the previous year's record high (2016: EUR 1.6
billion). At EUR 830 million, financing for small and medium-sized
enterprises in developing countries was once again a focus in 2017.
Financing for German companies increased significantly by 70% to EUR
436 million (2016: EUR 253 million).

The 2017 financial year was also encouraging in terms of
developmental impact. DEG's existing customers employ around 1.5
million people and generate annual local income of EUR 67 billion in
developing countries, of which EUR 14 billion are comprised of wages
and salaries. In regional terms, DEG's commitments in Asia developed
particularly well at EUR 601 million, recording an increase of around
18 per cent over the previous year. Asia was followed by Latin
America with EUR 502 million. By sector, the financial sector and
infrastructure projects topped the list.

"In 2018, we want to intensify our efforts to promote innovative
business ideas, for example in the area of fin-techs. We see
digitalisation as an important trend and driver, also in our partner
countries. We also aim to promote ideas by female entrepreneurs in
developing countries and contribute to greater participation of women
in business," said Christiane Laibach, Chairwoman of the DEG
Management Board.

More details are available at http://ots.de/2jYHvK and
www.deginvest.de.

Pressekontakt:
KfW, Palmengartenstr. 5 - 9, 60325 Frankfurt
Kommunikation (KOM), Charis Pöthig
Tel. +49 (0)69 7431 4683, Fax: +49 (0)69 7431 3266,
E-Mail: charis.poethig@kfw.de, Internet: www.kfw.de

Original-Content von: KfW, übermittelt durch news aktuell