Press Release

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Timothy Harwood

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Wednesday, February 4, 2004

OPIC Loan Helps Philippines Meet Need for Safe Drinking Water

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will help the Philippines meet a growing demand for bottled water by enabling a small business to sell purified water to residential and commercial customers in the country, OPIC President and CEO Dr. Peter Watson announced today.

OPIC will provide a $348,000 loan to Golden Cypress Water Company, a bottled water manufacturer and distributor which is owned in part by two U.S. citizens, to finance the start-up of an operation which will sell purified water for both residential and commercial customers on Mactan Island. The company will pump water from an on-site aquifer; purify it through a reverse osmosis membrane system; then bottle, market, sell, and distribute it.

Dr. Watson noted that the Philippines currently lacks an adequate, reliable, and safe municipal water supply system: in metropolitan Manila, only 60 percent of the population is served by the water utility. Consequently, there is heavy demand for bottled water.

“The bottled water industry in the Philippines has thrived in recent years, but substantial demand remains for safe drinking water. OPIC is pleased to contribute to a project that will help meet this important need, to the benefit of thousands of Filipinos,” Dr. Watson said.

OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.

Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported nearly $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated $74 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 275,000 American jobs.