Madrid, September 28, 2023. At the occasion of the 15th annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) which took place from September 24th to September 27th in Madrid, and considering the growing number of French and Spanish companies having cross border activities or projects in France and Spain, COFIDES and Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, have decided to enter discussions to develop an operational cooperation dedicated to financing and supporting private sector projects, including SMEs, in both countries through dedicated investment vehicles and specific programmes.
COFIDES and Bpifrance are both developing actions and tools to promote foreign investments in their respective countries and promote internationalisation of companies amongst both countries.
The two institutions both share a common objective aiming at accompanying the development of SME’s and supporting the development of industrial projects, in particular those promoting the climate and digital transitions.
Pascal Lagarde, Executive Director at Bpifrance said: “We are very willing to develop a cooperation with COFIDES as it is important to strengthen and densify economic relations between France and Spain and benefit from the dynamic trend of the Spanish economy. With COFIDES we face the same challenges and working together to develop cooperation amongst public European investors is key”.
Miguel Tiana, COFIDES director-general, added: “We look forward to intensifying the collaboration with Bpifrance, since we share the objective to increase the presence of Spanish and French companies in each other’s economies and to join efforts to finance private sector investments in both countries”.
ABOUT BPIFRANCE:
Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses – at every stage of their development – through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extra financial services (training, consultancy) to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and overcome the challenges they face (innovation, export…).
Website: http://www.bpifrance.fr and presse.bpifrance.fr
Twitter: @Bpifrance - @BpifrancePresse
ABOUT COFIDES:
COFIDES is a state-owned enterprise specialized in the management of State funds that provide medium- and long-term financing for private investments linked to different public policy purposes. COFIDES directly manages funds aimed at supporting the internationalization of Spanish firms, strengthening the solvency of companies severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, to attract foreign direct investment into Spain through co-investment deals and to contribute to the growth of the impact investment ecosystem in Spain. In addition, COFIDES supports the management of the financial cooperation portfolio of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, promoting sustainable development in emerging economies and developing countries. In the ownership structure of the Company, the Spanish State holds 53% of the equity. The remaining 47% is held by Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).
