On July 6, IFC (Beijing) and Yichang Municipal Government signed a memorandum of co-operation in PPP projects, and this is for the first time that IFC forms a partnership with a Chinese local government.

　　Those who attended the signing ceremony and gave speeches include Philippe Le Houérou, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO, Simon Andrew, chief representative in China, Hanbing, deputy director of Public-Private Partnerships Center under the Ministry of Finance, Wang Yuanhe, deputy director the provincial Department of Finance and Huang Liming, deputy mayor of Yichang. Pask, director of East Asia and Pacific Region Bureau of IFC signed the memorandum of co-operation with Xu Wei, chairman of Finance Bureau of Yichang.

　　IFC, as a member of the World Bank Group，is one of the most authoritative financing institutions in the world. Its PPP advisory team has mobilized nearly $20 billion of private investment on infrastructure in the last decade.

　　Under the terms of the MOU, IFC will collaborate with Yichang government in PPP projects, government investment consultation and capacity building. To be specific, the former will help to select suitable PPP projects from such sectors concerning livelihood as education, healthcare, transportation, environment and food safety, and conduct structure design, provide consultation services for government investment and enhance the capacity building of financial sectors through expert lectures, investigating tours and training. (Reporter: Fu Beibei; Correspondent: Zhang Xiaojie)