The International Finance Corporation (IFC) said it is investing up to 100 million euro ($104.1 million) in a senior unsecured bond issued by Kommunalkredit Austria, a specialised bank for infrastructure and energy financing, to support sustainable infrastructure projects in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland.
IFC’s investment is matched by an equal contribution from China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, bringing the bond’s total size to 200 million euro, IFC said in a statement on Monday.
The initiative will directly finance ten projects across Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, with a total transaction amount of some 600 million euro. It is expected to strengthen the power sector’s resilience by diversifying the energy mix.
"Our investment in Kommunalkredit’s bond will channel critical funding into sustainable energy projects in Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania," IFC regional director for the Financial Institutions Group in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Vittorio Di Bello, said. "By supporting financial intermediaries like Kommunalkredit, we can harness their expertise to drive the low-carbon transition in key regions, diversify energy sources, and spur sustainable and inclusive economic growth."
The overall investment will support the European Green Deal by also boosting renewable energy capacity in Hungary and Turkey, Kommunalkredit said in a separate statement. The funding will focus on renewable energy projects, particularly wind power.
This marks IFC’s first investment in a specialised infrastructure financial institution in Europe. IFC's long-term strategy in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland aims to accelerate the transition to low-carbon, resilient and inclusive growth.
Kommunalkredit provides financing solutions and advisory services to financial investors, developers, independent power producers and corporates in the concession and utility sectors, with a focus on energy and environment, communications and digitalisation, transportation, social infrastructure and natural resources.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
(SeeNews, March 4, 2025)
