New Development Bank concludes successful participation at BRICS Summit 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa

The tenth BRICS Summit concluded today at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, during which the New Development Bank showcased its growing support for the sustainable economic development of the BRICS countries. Over the course of the three-day summit, the Bank participated in a series of high-profile meetings and sessions with BRICS nations’ leaders and the wider BRICS business community, wherein the Bank delivered updates on key projects and other announcements, summarized below:

• July 20 – The NDB Board of Directors approved two projects, one for South Africa and one for China, with both loans aggregating USD 600 million.
• July 23 – NDB and the BRICS Business Council co-hosted a Business Breakfast in Durban, South Africa, with the objective of discussing investment opportunities and perspectives for strengthening mutual cooperation.
• July 26 – NDB President delivered a report to BRICS leaders on project updates and the Bank’s progress till date.
• July 26 – Mr. K.V. Kamath, NDB President, Mr. Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, and Mr. Eduardo Refinetti Guardia, the Minister of Finance of Brazil, Vice-Chairman of the Bank’s Board of Governors signed an Agreement on the Hosting of the New Development Bank Americas Regional Office (ARO) in the Federative Republic of Brazil.
• July 26 – NDB President met Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of the Republic of South Africa, in Johannesburg to discuss joint projects and the future role of the Bank in South Africa.

Through its active participation in the BRICS Summit, the Bank reaffirmed its determination to expand its role as an innovative and reliable development partner to all BRICS countries in the year ahead, increasing its support for all member nations to achieve their development agendas.

With the approval of the two projects from South Africa and China, the Bank’s lending portfolio has expanded to 23 projects aggregating USD 5.7 billion, indicating the accelerating momentum behind NDB and the strong demand for sustainable infrastructure financing among member nations.

“Thus far, the NDB has approved 23 projects for about USD 5.7 billion in our member countries. These projects now go beyond the core renewable energy sectors that we earlier focused on into areas such as rural roads, ecosystem restoration, water supply particularly in rural areas, irrigation system restructuring, and energy conservation, reflecting our ability to appraise increasingly complex projects as we continue to move up the learning curve. Almost all of our lending supports sustainable infrastructure and development,” said NDB President Mr. K.V. Kamath.

“By the end of this year, we expect the total approvals to reach about USD 7.5 billion. In 2019, we are targeting incremental approvals of about USD 7-8 billion,” added the NDB President.

“We are geared to fund conventional infrastructure as well as to harness transformative technologies in the service of development. Besides the traditional set of lending products, we will also begin offering non-fund based financial products such as guarantees and credit enhancements. We will work at speed, scale, and make a positive difference, quickly and effectively,” highlighted Mr. K.V. Kamath.

Details on key NDB activities at the tenth BRICS Summit 2018

Project approvals: With a focus on infrastructure and sustainable development, the Bank approved one loan for South Africa and one for China in the run-up to the BRICS Summit. The NDB will provide a loan of USD 300 million without sovereign guarantee to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Energy Sector Development Project. The Bank will also provide a USD 300 million sovereign project loan to the People’s Republic of China for Luoyang Metro Project to support the construction of a new metro line in the city of Luoyang, a densely populated city located in central China, aiming to reduce heavy traffic in the highly congested urban area, and enhance mobility and accessibility.

Business breakfast: On 23 July 2018, NDB and the BRICS Business Council (BBC) co-hosted a Business Breakfast in Durban, with attendance from key diplomatic leaders and business leaders. The objective of this meeting was to discuss updates on investment opportunities, credit rating options for the bank from global capital markets, continued efforts to identify the right projects to drive sustainability in all member countries, establishing a guarantee mechanism between the Bank and BBC to strengthen partnerships on future projects and more.

The President’s Speech to BRICS Leaders: Mr. K.V. Kamath met with leaders of the BRICS countries and delivered an update to them, reporting on the Bank’s progress. He confirmed that to date, the NDB has approved 23 projects aggregating USD 5.7 billion. He also highlighted that the NDB Africa Regional Center in Johannesburg is the face of the Bank in South Africa and an extension of the same focus on scaling up projects for the country. Mr. Kamath also noted on the upcoming opening of the Americas Regional Office in Brazil this year.

Americas Regional Office opening in Brazil: NDB and the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil signed the Agreement on hosting of the NDB Americas Regional Office (ARO), slated to be opened later in this year. This is a key milestone for the Bank as the ARO will play a crucial role in the identification and preparation of bankable projects in Brazil.

Meeting with South Africa President: Mr. K.V. Kamath met with Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of the Republic of South Africa. The key updates during the meeting included further development of the Bank, expansion of the Bank’s project pipeline in South Africa, the progress so far and the evolving role of NDB’s Africa Regional Center in Johannesburg.

About NDB

The New Development Bank (NDB) is a multilateral development bank established in 2014 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. To fulfill its purpose, the NDB will support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.