On March 27, 2006, Dr. David Tawei Lee, representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, on behalf of the TaiwanICDF signed an agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno, to cofinance investment and loan projects in support of microenterprise and small business in Latin America and the Caribbean through a Specialized Financial Intermediary Development Fund that will be administered by the IDB.

The TaiwanICDF will contribute up to US$15 million to cofinance projects in conjunction with the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which is an autonomous fund of the IDB that promotes private sector growth. The resources would be available for eligible financial institutions from Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Latin America and the Caribbean, specialize in financing microenterprises and small businesses. The provision of investment and loans to these financial institutions will support and promote the growth of the private sector within the region.

The TaiwanICDF expects the fund to generate an annual yield of 4-5% in 10 years, benefit businesses that need loans of less than US$5,000, support the growth of domestic enterprises, and help the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean eliminate poverty.

The MIF is the world's largest source of technical assistance to the private sector in Latin America and the Caribbean and has provided US$1 billion for more than 800 projects since it began operations in 1993. The MIF has adequate fund management experience in this field. As this is the first time the TaiwanICDF and the IDB have cooperated in establishing a regional investment fund, the MIF has provided the two parties the opportunity to work in regional cooperation.

• Update: 2010/12/31
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