31937 - F-Road

Who We Are
Who We Are

IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. By encouraging growth, IFC advances economic development, creates jobs and improves the lives of people.
More About Us
About IFC

Our Leadership

Development Partners
Accountability

Learn more about accountability
Annual Report

Download the Report
What We Do
What We Do

IFC advances economic development and improves the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries. We achieve this by investing in impactful projects, mobilizing other investors, and sharing expertise.
What We Do Overview
SOLUTIONS

Our products and services
OUR PRIORITIES

Climate Business

Fragile & Conflict Afflicted Situations

Gender

Mobilizing Private Capital

Sustainability
SECTORS & EXPERTISE

Agribusiness & Forestry

Creative Industries

Education

Financial Institutions

Funds

Health

Infrastructure

Manufacturing

Public-Private Partnerships

Tourism, Retail & Property

Trade & Supply Chain Finance

Venture Capital

Working Upstream
Where We Work
Where We Work

As the largest global development institution focused on the private sector, IFC operates in more than 100 countries around the globe. We apply lessons learned in one region to solve problems in another.
Overview
By Region

Africa

East Asia and Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and Central Asia

South Asia
Our Impact
Our Impact

Our impact improves lives. IFC brings a clear set of advantages to the world’s most challenging markets. Including a history of innovation, a global mandate, and a determination to achieve measurable development impact.
Our Impact Overview
PRINCIPLES & MEASUREMENT

Impact Investing at IFC

Measuring and Monitoring (AIMM)

Evaluation

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Owned by 186 member countries and consistently rated AAA/Aaa. IFC aims to achieve our mission of promoting development by providing debt and equity to the private sector, through a range of benchmark and bespoke products.

For Partners

For Investors

Get in Touch

Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

31937

Company Name

Shanghai F-Road Commercial Service Co., Ltd.

Date SPI Disclosed

Jun 11, 2012

Country

China

Region

East Asia and the Pacific

Projected Board Date

Jul 13, 2012

Environmental Category

FI-3 - No Impact

Status

Completed

Last Updated Date

Sep 9, 2018

Department

Equity Portfolio Management

Industry

Financial Markets

Previous Events

Approved : Sep 14, 2012
Signed : Sep 28, 2012
Invested : Mar 26, 2013

Sector

Microfinance and Small Business - Non Commercial Banking

Project Description

The proposed project will likely consist of IFC’s equity investment of up to RMB50 million (US$8 million equivalent) in Shanghai F-Road Commercial Service Co., Ltd. (“F-Road” or the “Company”). F-Road, founded in Shanghai in 2008, is a financial service provider specialized in providing financial access to customers of small financial institutions through mobile devices. The project represents an opportunity for IFC to support a leading mobile banking service provider in China which serves a large number of rural population and micro-business sector through partnering with small financial institutions, with high potential of scaling up its outreach and impacts in rural and frontier regions. By using mobile devices, the underserved rural population and micro businesses would be able to access basic banking services including money transfer, remittance, bill payment, card operations, lending, account inquiry, account management, and cash-in/out through mobile payment platform established by F-Road.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan
Equity	7.88

Development Impact

The Project will achieve strong development impact and demonstrate IFC''s commitment to support financial inclusion and the development of frontier regions in China:

(i) Improve Access to Financial Services: lack of access to financial services in rural areas and frontier regions has been a challenge for China. By using mobile networks effectively, access to financial services will no longer be limited to areas in which a bank is physically present or there is access to the Internet. Through easier access to the financial services visa mobile devices, underserved population will experience higher financial efficiency and capture more business opportunities, leading to increased income and improved livelihood.

(ii) Promote Financial Sector Innovation: access to banking and payments services through the mobile phone is new in China. By assisting the pioneering mobile banking service provider at this important stage and by helping develop it into a model company, IFC is expected to have demonstrative impacts and accelerate adoption.

(iii) Enhance Institution Building: through F-Road, IFC could potentially improve the operating efficiency, scale and financial transparency of small financial institutions and enable these financial institutions to reach out to their clients.

(i) Sector knowledge: IFC''s combined expertise in both financial markets and payments will help F-Road enhance its capacity in serving small financial institutions. Moreover, IFC has a strong AS presence in China. The AS team has accumulated solid experience in the microfinance industry, and has gained credibility with relevant government agencies and stakeholders. The ongoing good cooperation with People''s Bank of China, the leading government agency in the mobile banking sector enables IFC to assist the development of the Company, especially in the areas of strategy planning, business model refinement and network expansion.
(ii) Global experience: IFC has made a number of successful investments in the electronic payments and remote banking services in countries such as India, Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Central America, Nigeria etc. F-Road is particularly interested in IFC''s global experience and hopes to learn from IFC''s other clients. The Company is also looking beyond China for potential opportunities in emerging markets. With global IS and AS experience, IFC is well positioned to assist F-Road in improving its industry knowledge and connections to the international markets.
(iii) Stamp of approval: IFC''s reputation and credibility will upgrade F-Road profile in the market and facilitate potential funding initiatives of the Company in the future.

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

The project supports a mobile banking service provider that enables its subscribers and customers to make bill payment, remittance and other account management activities. It has been therefore classified as a Category FI-3 project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedure. The Company will be required to demonstrate commitment to applying the labor standards established by the IFC Performance Standard 2: Labor and Working Conditions. The Company is also required to inform IFC in the event of any change in nature or scope of its business or operations.

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

Mr. Huidong Su
CEO
5/F, No.257 Yulan Road, Pudong, Shanghai, China
Tele: 86-21-50590102
Fax: 86-21-50590257-888
Email: mailto:sure@f-road.com.cn
Website: http://www.f-road.com.cn/froadcom/

For Inquiries and Comments About IFC, Contact

General IFC Inquiries
IFC Corporate Relations
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384
E Mail: Webmaster

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Projects

Summary of Investment Information

Project Description

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Development Impact

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

Similar Projects

Contacts

Projects

Summary of Investment Information

Project Description

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Project Sponsor and Major Shareholders of Project Company

Total Project Cost and Amount and Nature of IFC's Investment

IFC's Investment as Approved by the Board

Location of Project and Description of Site

Development Impact

Anticipated Impact Measurement & Monitoring (AIMM) Assessment

IFC's Role and Additionality

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

Environmental & Social Categorization Rationale / Key Risks & Potential Impacts

Environmental & Social Management System (ESMS)

Mitigation Measures / Environmental & Social Action Plan (ESAP)

Press-Release

Related Environmental Document

Similar Projects

Contacts

Information on E&S Complaints and Grievance Mechanisms

Disclaimer