The Export and Import Bank of Korea and International Finance Corp. have agreed to expand their collaboration in developing countries and to link Korean firms with more opportunities overseas, the financial institutions said Sunday.

The two signed a new memorandum of understanding on Friday to focus on creating new jobs, promoting smart cities and boosting health care, among other measures to identify and finance projects in countries largely in Southeast and Central Asia. The collaboration will support private sector-led solutions in emerging markets and enhance knowledge and information sharing in order to help the region recover from COVID-19 fallout.

“This MOU will enable Eximbank and IFC to contribute to the sustainable recovery of developing countries post COVID-19,” said IFC CEO Philippe Le Houerou. “It will allow us to jointly provide sustainable and scalable private sector solutions by financing projects in new sectors, as well as in frontier markets across all regions.”

The foundation is also to expand the market for Korean goods and services in developing countries.

“While expanding joint projects with IFC, Eximbank will accelerate efforts to overcome the current crisis and spearhead financial and industrial innovation to underpin growth momentum of the Korean economy,” said Korea Eximbank Chairman Bang Moon-kyu.

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is a global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

Since 2014, the IFC has provided financing of over $6.5 billion of long-term commitments for projects involving Korean partners and banks.

Korea Eximbank and IFC have jointly supported infrastructure projects, representing $11.2 billion in investments in developing countries since 2008. In 2019, the two institutions co-financed a Nepali hydropower plant project that was built and operated by a Korean company. Currently, they are reviewing a water purification plant in Indonesia.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)