Luxembourg Leading Jurisdiction for Microfinance Investment Vehicles
According to the last White Paper co-written by CGAP and Symbiotics, “Microfinance Funds 10 Years of Research & Practice”, Luxembourg is a leading jurisdiction for MIVs. As of December 2015, Luxembourg funds accounted for 61% of the MIV market size, up from 44% in 2006. The number of Luxembourg funds accounted for in the MIV survey has increased from 11 in 2006 to 39 today.
The CGAP and Symbiotics White Paper provides an overview of the landscape of microfinance offshore investments based on data collected through annual CGAP/Symbiotics surveys of MIVs conducted between 2007 and 2016. It follows the definition of MIVs as “independent investment vehicles with more than 50% of non-cash assets invested in microfinance and open to multiple investors”.
Today, more than two-thirds of MIVs are domiciled in Western Europe, mainly in Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The authors of the publication underlined that over the past decade, Luxembourg has been one of the prime MIV jurisdictions.
Luxembourg is the leading investment fund centre in Europe and the second largest in the world behind the United States. For the authors, the popularity of Luxembourg is due to a “flexible fund regulatory environment”, and “a political commitment to fast-tracking microfinance funds”.
To read the full White Paper Microfinance Funds 10 Years of Research & Practice from CGAP and Symbiotics, click here
Source: CGAP, Symbiotices, White Paper. Microfinance Funds 10 Years of Research & Practice, December 2016
