The Three Seas region is one of the fastest growing in the world and the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund (3SIIF) is its investment vehicle for financing long-term infrastructure projects – Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka, chairperson of the Supervisory Board of the 3SIIF and president of the Polish Development Bank BGK said during the Three Seas Summit in Tallinn.
“We set a clear goal for the Fund – developing cross-border infrastructure investments in the region. The infrastructure gap in order to match the quality of Western European infrastructure is almost EUR 600 bn. The Fund targets three main sectors - energy, transport and digital infrastructure. Improving connections between our 11 countries are key to building economic growth,” said Daszyńska-Muzyczka.
In order to achieve the ambitious goals, BGK in cooperation with all development banks in the region initiated an international investment fund - the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund. “Thanks to great collaboration and relationships with banks and promotional institutions in the region we built the basis for the Fund – its legal framework and strategy,” added Daszyńska-Muzyczka. Alongside local governments as cornerstone investors, the Fund aims to stimulate private capital to the region, on a commercial basis.
The founding act of the Fund was signed in May 2019 under Luxembourg law by the Polish Development Bank BGK and the Romanian EximBank. In 2020 they were joined by the Estonian government and the Latvian development institution Altum. The Fund is now fully operational with an independent investment committee.
The core sponsors analysed the market and chose professional infrastructure investment advisor with proven track record - Amber Infrastructure Group. Amber is responsible for project management, fundraising and origination for the Fund.
“We are extremely pleased that at the Tallinn Summit additional commitments to the Fund were announced by Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Fund’s Investment Adviser, Amber Infrastructure Group. Poland, through BGK, was also delighted to announce it had increased its investment in the Fund. The Fund is open to international financial institutions, as well as private institutional investors globally. This is a commercial and market driven initiative," said Daszyńska-Muzyczka.