The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group member, revealed in a disclosure that it plans to invest up to US$250 million in DBS, the leading Singapore-based financial services group.
The IFC proposed investment involves a 50-50 equal risk-sharing facility with DBS on a trade asset portfolio with Emerging Markets Issuing Banks (EMIBs) worth up to US$500 million.
DBS operates across various regional markets besides Singapore, including greater China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. IFC offers advisory services to governments and businesses on private sector development, access to finance, ESG, public-private partnerships, trade, and competitiveness.
Temasek Holdings is a significant shareholder of DBS Group Holdings Ltd., and holds a 29.14% stake in the Group. Recently, DBS committed US$10 million to Heritas Capital’s Asia Impact First Fund, which made its first close in March.
However, in the same month, the group faced an “embarrassing” disruption to its digital bank and PayLah! services that required investigation.
In February, IFC disclosed its proposal to invest up to US$25 million in Asia Partners’ second tech-focused private equity fund, Asia Partners II, targeting mid-stage tech-enabled companies in Southeast Asia.
In 2022, IFC invested over US$5 billion in Southeast Asia, mobilising at least US$2 billion from other investors, and committed approximately US$2 billion in the South Asian region.
