Summary of Cumulative Operations

As of December 31, 1998, the level of cumulative financing extended by the Fund stood as follows:

A total of 778 loans amounting to US$3,982.7 million, and with an overall grant element of over 45%, had been approved. The loans fell into the following categories:

Project: 552 loans valued at US$2,953.1 million

BOP Support: 185 loans totaling US$724.2 million

Program: 41 loans amounting to US$305.3 million

Disbursement of loans

By the end of 1998, a total of 475 loans had been fully disbursed and another 204 partially disbursed, while some 52 remained outstanding and yet to become effective. An additional 47 loans had been canceled subsequent to original commitments. Total disbursements amounted to US$2,619.3 million.

Regional distribution

Geographically, loans approved through December 31, 1998, were distributed as follows:

Africa: 441 loans, valued at US$1,911.1 million, provided to 46 countries

Asia: 211 loans, worth US$1,561.8 million, extended to 26 countries

Latin America and the Caribbean: 122 loans, amounting to US$483.7 million, extended to 21 countries

Europe: 4 loans, totaling US$26.0 million, given to two countries

Total commitments and disbursements, as at December 31, 1998
(in millions of US dollars)
	Commitments	Disbursements
1. Lending operations
- Project financing	2,953.145*	1,653.889
- BOP support	724.230*	713.930
- Program financing	305.300*	251.511
Subtotal	3,982.675*	2,619.330
2. Grant program
- Technical assistance	93.084	84.049
- Special contribution to IFAD	20.000	20.000
- Project preparation	0.277	0.235
- Research and similar activities	3.146	2.664
- Emergency aid	40.867	39.871
- Common Fund for Commodities	83.560	11.528
Subtotal	240.933	158.347
3. IFAD	861.142	731.989
4. IMF Trust Fund	110.721	110.721
Total	5,195.471	3,620.387
* No account is taken of terminations and balances subsequent to original commitments; terminations total $245.95 million and balances total US$158.349 million for all countries.

Categories of recipient countries

By the end of 1998, the world's least developed countries had received US$2,191.7 million or 55% of the Fund's total lending commitments, while other developing countries had benefited from loans worth US$1,791.0 million, or 45% of the total.

Categories of loans

Regional apportionment of loans according to type is as follows:

Project loans: US$1,314.1 million to Africa; US$1,321.6 million to Asia; US$291.4 million to Latin America and the Caribbean; and US$26.0 million to Europe.

BOP support loans: US$430.5 million to Africa; US$175.8 million to Asia; and US$118.0 million to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Program loans: US$166.6 million to Africa; US$64.5 million to Asia; and US$74.2 million to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Sectoral distribution of project loans

The breakdown of project loans by economic sector is as follows:

Energy: US$713.0 million, or 24.2%

Transportation: US$638.7 million, or 21.6%

Agriculture and agro-industry: US$479.8 million, or 16.2%

Education: US$373.5 million, or 12.7%

Water supply and sewerage: US$197.8 million, or 6.7%

National development banks: US$174.7 million, or 5.9%

Industry: US$92.7 million, or 3.1%

Health: US$193.9 million, or 6.6%

Telecommunications: US$15.6 million, or 0.5%

Other: US$71.9 million, or 2.4%

Grants

Cumulatively, the Fund had committed a total of 478 grants worth US$240.9 million by December 31, 1998. Of this sum, US$93.1 million was extended as technical assistance, often in cooperation with United Nations agencies and other international development organizations; US$40.9 million was made available in support of emergency relief operations; US$3.1 million sponsored research and similar activities; US$20 million went to IFAD; and US$277,000 was committed for project preparation. In addition, grant allocations totaling US$83.6 million were approved for the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC). This amount comprises a voluntary contribution of US$46.4 million to the Second Account of the CFC and another US$37.2 million to cover the subscriptions of 35 least developed countries: by the end of 1998, agreements for CFC grants worth US$34.1 million had been signed by the OPEC Fund with 32 countries to cover their subscriptions to the directly contributed capital of the CFC, of which US$11.53 million has been disbursed.

IFAD

IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations, established in 1977 to mobilize resources for agricultural development in the poorer regions of the world. It provides funding for projects to introduce or expand food production systems, and works to strengthen related policies and institutions in accordance with national priorities and strategies.

The OPEC Fund played a significant role in the establishment of IFAD, channeling US$861.1 million in contributions from OPEC member countries towards the agency's initial capital (US$435.5 million) and first replenishment (US$425.6 million). Of this pledged total, US$732.0 million (US$647.5 million in cash and US$84.4 million in promissory notes) had been paid-in by the end of 1998.

Since IFAD's creation, OPEC states have maintained their firm support of the agency, contributing to additional replenishments of its resources. In 1986, US$184 million was pledged for the second replenishment, of which US$181.7 million (US$176.7 million in cash and US$5.0 million in promissory notes) has been paid-in. OPEC member countries also agreed to contribute US$124.4 million towards the third replenishment in 1989. Of this amount, US$118.9 million (US$98.4 million in the form of promissory notes and US$35.5 million in cash) had been paid-in by the end of 1998.

IMF Trust Fund

Also through the OPEC Fund, resources amounting to US$110.7 million, were transferred by a number of OPEC member countries to the Trust Fund established in May 1976 and administered by the IMF. Representing gains accruing to seven OPEC states from the sale of gold held on their behalf by the IMF, these resources were allocated to provide concessional balance of payment support to eligible low-income IMF member countries.

ESAF Trust

In 1994 the OPEC Fund entered into an agreement with the IMF to contribute to the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) Trust, which was established in December 1987, and subsequently extended and enlarged in February 1994, to provide loans on concessional terms to qualifying low-income IMF developing member countries. The OPEC Fund committed US$50 million to the Trust, and the first drawing, in the amount of US$17,923,483.48 (SDR 12,785,000 equivalent), was made in December 1998. The ESAF Trust aims at responding to the balance of payments difficulties confronting many of the world's poorest developing countries.