THE PRIVATE SECTOR STRATEGY OVERVIEW
Malcolm Bricknell, one of the architects of the OPEC Fund’s private sector operations, remembers the early days, reflects on what has been achieved and outlines the challenges ahead By Axel Reiserer, OPEC Fund PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT
OPEC Fund Quarterly : Why did the OPEC Fund start working in the private sector and how did the operations begin? Malcolm Bricknell: When I joined the OPEC Fund in 1999, plans were already fairly advanced. I came from the Gulf Investment Corporation in Kuwait, where I was Vice President. I was running the capital market division and responsible for bond issuances and equity transactions. Assistant Director- General Said Aissi, who was head of operations at the OPEC Fund at that time, assembled a dedicated team to create a private sector window and hired me. His idea was to recruit people from other development finance institutions with similar approaches. He was looking at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), African Development Bank (AfDB) and similar institutions for inspiration and guidance. OFQ : How does the private sector fit into the OPEC Fund’s development mandate? MB: It was becoming increasingly clear that if you wanted to do development, you had to think about the private sector. It is the engine of growth, creates
jobs, earns foreign currency and leads to knowledge transfer. Clearly, you need the private sector in development and this was also the direction that other development finance institutions (DFIs) were taking. OFQ : What are some of the challenges for a DFI when setting up private sector operations for the first time? MB: All these institutions have a mandate, they are not just there for doing business and turning a profit. In public sector operations they o ff er concessional loans, this means transactions where financing is granted with an interest below normal market rates as a matter of policy. However, this means that your resources tend to get drained. Either that or you have to put a big chunk of your money into the investment portfolio, so you’re not able to reach the level of operations you want to. Essentially, you’re forced to go back to your member countries for more contributions. Some members are more willing – and able – than others to keep the tap running. The alternatives are development operations which are basically self- financing and sustainable. That was our
Malcolm Bricknell
Malcolm Bricknell worked at the OPEC Fund for International Development from 1999 to 2015 where he was involved in structuring and managing the financing of private sector development projects. In his earlier career, Bricknell worked in corporate finance, arranging and executing di ff erent types of debt and equity transactions. Today he is an international liaison manager for the Modern Energy Cooking Services program, an initiative supported by the UK government to accelerate the transition from biomass to clean cooking. Bricknell holds a degree from the London School of Economics and a Master of Business Administration from Manchester Business School.
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