Forte Convertible (IFC-44741)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Cambodia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Cambodia and Laos PDR
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
FI
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Apr 28, 2022
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
FORTE INVESTMENT HOLDINGS CO., LIMITED
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 15.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 15.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 15.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Community Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 28, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Jan 31, 2022

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the bank's website, the project "comprises a convertible senior debt investment of upto US$15 million in FIG3 Investment Holding Pte. Ltd (“Forte” or the “Company”), the holding company which operates in the insurance sector via its subsidiaries in Cambodia and Lao PDR. The funds will be used to strengthen Forte’s capital position, expand its product suite and enhance reach within and outside Cambodia."

As stated in a recent report by Recourse and partners, the funds will be used to strengthen Forte's capital position, expand its product suite and enhance reach within and outside Cambodia. Forte provides insurance for the oil and gas industry.

Bank disclosures on financial intermediary sub-projects are often limited. Although the bank disclosures did not categorize this as an energy project, civil society research has linked this project with oil and gas. Therefore, for purposes of this snapshot and other research, the Early Warning System team has categorized this project as an "Energy" project.

People Affected By This Project
People Affected By This Project refers to the communities of people likely to be affected positively or negatively by a project.

The development impact of the proposed project is the increase in insurance coverage in the non-life segment through both expansion of existing insurance products and introduction of new insurance products in Cambodia and also in other East Asian countries, including Lao PDR. Beyond the Project, IFC anticipates that via demonstration, replication and innovation channels, the investment will foster increased competitiveness in its operating markets by introducing new insurance products and catering to specific needs in the market.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

According to the IFC, the Project involves a convertible senior debt investment of up to US$15 million in Forte.

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

According to the IFC,  FIG3 Investment Holding Pte. Ltd (“Forte” or the “Company”) was established in 1999 in Cambodia by the family of Mr. Carlo Cheo with Charles Cheo being the current Executive Chairman. Forte owns the largest non-life insurance company in Cambodia, namely Forte Insurance Cambodia. The current main shareholders are the Cheo family (through CCH Pte. Ltd.), Mr. Kang Ping Yio, Mr. Chamroeunrith Youk, Wafi Pte. Ltd., and institutional shareholders (DEG and EMIA).        

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - FIG3 INVESTMENT HOLDING PTE. LTD Client -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

FIG3 Investment Holding Pte. Ltd

Guido M Meyerhans
Chief Strategy Officer
(+855) 23 885 077
guido.meyerhans@forteinsurance.com
120 Robinson Road, #08-01 Singapore 068913
www.forteinsurance.com

 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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How it works