IDB Lends $75m to Noble Argentina

The IDB has approved a loan of up to $75m to Noble Argentina so it can build a soybean crushing plant in Santa Fe province. “The IDB financing will help Argentina cement its position as a major player in the international market for soybean byproducts, as the new plant could generate more than $640m a year in exports,” says IDB project team leader Martin Duhart. Separately, the IDB says it will double its annual grants to Haiti to $100m in 2009. The multilateral gave the country $50m in grants in 2007 and 2008. The funds will go to investments in social and economic programs.