Mexico’s Nafin ready to ride the nearshoring wave

Nacional Financiera (Nafin), a development bank linked to Mexico’s finance ministry (SHCP), is looking to boost the nearshoring trend by funding the development and expansion of industrial facilities. 

The bank provides funding for industries, commerce and services. 

“Within those, we can also operate on the ‘first floor’, meaning direct funding to companies. The projects should be above US$10mn,” Nafin’s director of international financial institutions, Iván Cornejo, told BNamericas in an interview. “If a company wants to, for example, expand its plant I could provide corporate funding.”

Nafin is also working on a program to reduce lending rates if a facility is environmentally friendly.

“We are working with the French Development Agency [AFD] on a program called ‘Sustainable Buildings’ where if what is being built within the plan is beneficial to the environment, which means reducing emissions, I can give that concession in interest rates,” Cornejo said. 

Nafin’s representative added that the program has not been launched but the bank could do so at the end of the year. 

“We are waiting for the change of administration to do the launching,” he added, referring to the new government that takes over on October 1. 

Asked about the requirements for this program, Cornejo said that any type of company can file an application except for housing-related firms.

“Regarding industrial facilities, we’ve been in talks with [Mexican real estate investment trust] Fibra Uno and other investment trusts,” he said. “We will prepare an event with the association of industrial facilities… where we can [officially] launch the program.”