countries (notably in Latin America) raised approximately $35 billion of project
finance debt in 2000, of which some $31 billion was raised from banks and $4 bil-
lion in the bond market. The World Bank also estimates that total private-sector
infrastructure investment in developing countries in 1999 (i.e., excluding natural
resources projects) was $68 billion,
2
which compares with some $20 billion of
project finance debt to developing countries in the same year. The importance of
project finance for developing countries is therefore evident.
It should be noted that the Project Finance International statistics do not in-
clude direct lending to private-sector projects by export credit agencies and mul-
tilateral development banks, although they do include ...