Source: El Nuevo Diario
One of the top sovereign wealth funds in the world, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund), chose Banco Multiple BDI, S.A. as the beneficiary of its first direct capital investment in the Dominican Republic. With this investment, Norfund has paid for additional shares of Banco BDI’s share capital, amounting to 20% of the entity’s subscribed and paid-in capital, allowing Banco BDI to keep growing and fortifying its capital base. Norfund, a development finance institution founded by the Norwegian parliament in 1997, is owned and funded by the Norwegian government and is essential to the success of this strategy as it is the government’s main tool for eradicating poverty and supporting the private sector in developing countries. Norfund’s portfolio in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America had a combined value of about $2.8 billion as of December 2021. The sovereign wealth fund has its main office in Oslo and regional offices in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, and Costa Rica.
By investing in businesses that promote sustainable development, such as clean energy, financial institutions, corporate scalable infrastructure, and green infrastructure—the main target sectors of its investments worldwide—Norfund’s core mission is to create jobs and enhance the quality of life in developing countries. Banco BDI, on the other hand, is a company that acts as a financial middleman and was established in 1974 as “Banco de Desarrollo Industrial, S.A.” The Monetary Board approved the change of franchise to a commercial bank in 2001, and the Superintendency of Banks ratified the change in franchise in 2002.
Since 1974, Banco BDI has provided individualized, professional, warm, and dependable service while undergoing continuous expansion in terms of total assets, profitability indicators, liquidity, efficiency, and productivity.