Mizuho Bank, Ltd. has signed a Collaboration Arrangement for Global Infrastructure Facility Partnership (GIF) with World Bank Group.

GIF was launched by the World Bank Group in October 2014 as a global, open platform for collaboration among governments, multilateral development banks, private sector investors and commercial banks.

GIF is designed to help bridge the infrastructure financing gap in emerging markets and developing economies and aims to provide integrated support, using the wide range of skills and resources from partner members, to ensure well-structured and bankable infrastructure projects are brought to market.

Mizuho Bank, as a partner member of GIF, will contribute to the development of infrastructure projects in emerging markets and developing economies through its involvement in early stages of the project life cycle and discussions related to the design and use of risk instruments by utilizing our broad range of experience in project finance.

Last month we reported that Mizuho Bank was one of the Mandated Lead Arrangers that participated in the refinancing agreement of the French motorway network Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR). Specifically, the agreement involved a €1.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) term loan with a syndicate of 18 international banks.