Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
Encyclopedia
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is a member organization of the World Bank Group
that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment
into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in Washington, DC. 175 member countries comprise MIGA's shareholders.
MIGA promotes foreign direct investment
into developing countries by insuring investor
s against political risk
, advising governments on attracting investment, sharing information through on-line investment information services, and mediating disputes between investors and governments. MIGA's membership in the World Bank Group enables the organization to intervene with host governments to resolve claims before they are filed.
.
Non-members are: Brunei
, Sao Tome and Principe
, Niger
, Somalia
, Comoros
, San Marino
, Bhutan
, Myanmar
, Tuvalu
, Kiribati
, Marshall Islands
, Samoa
, Cuba
, North Korea
, Andorra
, Monaco
, Liechtenstein
, Nauru
, Cook Islands
, Niue
, Vatican City
and the rest of states with limited recognition.
MIGA can cover:
Over the years, the organization has provided more than $24 billion in political risk insurance for over 600 projects in more than 100 developing countries. Its outstanding guarantees portfolio stands at $9.1 billion. Among MIGA's accomplishments: it provides water, electricity and other basic infrastructure, in addition to generating tax revenues and creating training programs. MIGA also assists with the development of facilities to tap natural resources through sustainable policies and programs.
Izumi Kobayashi joined MIGA as Executive Vice President on November 24, 2008. Michel Wormser is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Ana-Mita Betancourt is Director and General Counsel; Kevin Lu is Regional Director, Asia and Pacific; Lakshmi Shyam-Sunder, Chief Financial Officer and Director, Finance and Risk Management; Ravi Vish is Chief Economist and Director, Economics and Policy; and Edith Quintrell is Director of Operations.
World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is a family of five international organizations that makes leveraged loans, generally to poor countries.The Bank came into formal existence on 27 December 1945 following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements, which emerged from the United Nations Monetary...
that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in Washington, DC. 175 member countries comprise MIGA's shareholders.
MIGA promotes foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
into developing countries by insuring investor
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
s against political risk
Political risk insurance
Political risk insurance is a type of insurance that can be taken out by businesses, of any size, against political risk—the risk that revolution or other political conditions will result in a loss....
, advising governments on attracting investment, sharing information through on-line investment information services, and mediating disputes between investors and governments. MIGA's membership in the World Bank Group enables the organization to intervene with host governments to resolve claims before they are filed.
Membership
Members of the MIGA include 174 members of the United Nations and the Republic of KosovoRepublic of Kosovo
Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...
.
Non-members are: Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, Sao Tome and Principe
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, San Marino
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Tuvalu
Tuvalu
Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
, Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
, Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
, Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
, Niue
Niue
Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
, Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
and the rest of states with limited recognition.
MIGA's Business
MIGA provides guarantees against noncommercial risks to protect cross-border investment in developing member countries. The organization's efforts protect investors against the risks of currency inconvertibility and transfer restriction; expropriation; war, civil disturbance, and terrorism; breach of contract; and non-honoring of sovereign financial obligations. These coverages may be purchased individually or in combination.MIGA can cover:
- new, greenfield investmentsForeign direct investmentForeign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
; - new investment contributions associated with the expansion, modernization, or financial restructuring of existing projects;
- acquisitions involving privatization of state enterprises;
- existing investments with high development impact when the investor demonstrates a long-term commitment to the project.
Over the years, the organization has provided more than $24 billion in political risk insurance for over 600 projects in more than 100 developing countries. Its outstanding guarantees portfolio stands at $9.1 billion. Among MIGA's accomplishments: it provides water, electricity and other basic infrastructure, in addition to generating tax revenues and creating training programs. MIGA also assists with the development of facilities to tap natural resources through sustainable policies and programs.
Izumi Kobayashi joined MIGA as Executive Vice President on November 24, 2008. Michel Wormser is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Ana-Mita Betancourt is Director and General Counsel; Kevin Lu is Regional Director, Asia and Pacific; Lakshmi Shyam-Sunder, Chief Financial Officer and Director, Finance and Risk Management; Ravi Vish is Chief Economist and Director, Economics and Policy; and Edith Quintrell is Director of Operations.