The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD) expected in a report Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia to achieve 3% economic growth in 2014, down 0.1% from earlier forecasts in October. According to the report, the net flows of private capital in 34 emerging markets in which EBRD has investments were negatively impacted since the third quarter of 2011, which is expected to persist as the U.S. adopts a more conservative financial policy. In a related vein, EBRD has joined HSBC Bank Egypt in a facility providing a combined total commitment of US$ 100 million to the Improved Petroleum Recovery (IPR) group, an independent exploration and development company. The development facility has been structured with an accordion feature to allow additional commitments. The investments are intended to facilitate IPR's near-term growth strategy. This includes increased drilling; integrated technical studies to optimise production and energy efficiencies through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies; environmental and facilities upgrades to responsibly accommodate increased production; capacity building and technology transfer to its Egyptian joint-venture operating companies; and participation in other growth opportunities including upcoming bid rounds in Egypt. Eric Rasmussen, EBRD Director for Natural Resources said: "We are pleased to be supporting IPR's ambitious development strategy through this investment, one of our first in the sector. While we set high technical performance thresholds for this facility, there is an underlying and overall emphasis on health, safety and environment, as well as corporate responsibility and energy efficiency. The EBRD investment in this facility and others like it will facilitate much-needed domestic and sector development, in a safe and responsible way that minimises environmental impact.
