In the second quarter of 2023, the Public Development Banks (PDBs) and Development Financing Institutions (DFIs) database has updated the list of PDBs and DFIs. The updates include the inclusion of two institutions and the removal of four institutions as a result of merging existing PDBs and DFIs in Kenya and Denmark. Accordingly, the database now encompasses 526 PDBs and DFIs, covering 154 countries and economies across the world, with the total assets add up to 23 trillion US dollars.

In the second quarter of 2023, it is found that three DFIs in Kenya, namely, Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC), and IDB Capital Limited, were merged into the Kenya Development Corporation Ltd (KDC). Meanwhile, it was found that the Denmark's Export Credit Agency (EKF) and Vakstfonden and Den Grønne Investeringsfond were merged into one single institution named Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO).

After receiving the updated information and feedback on the PDBs and DFIs database, our research team contacted rigorous verification to identify the potential missing institutions or institutions that needed to be removed out by strictly applying the following five qualification criteria:

1. being a standalone entity;

2. proving fund-reflow-seeking financial instruments as the main products and services;

3. funding sources going beyond periodic budgetary transfers;

4. having a proactive policy-oriented mandate;

5. having government steering of corporate strategies.

To further ensure the accuracy and reliable of the list of PDBs and DFIs in the database, we implemented three rounds of quality control. In the first round, our research specialists consistently applied operational indicators of the five qualification criteria and documented supporting evidence obtained from official websites for newly added in or removed out institutions. Subsequently, a peer senior researcher verified the supporting evidence to ensure its the reliability and accuracy. In the final round,  (co-)principal investigators from the INSE and AFD provide final verification on the updates of PDBs and DFIs database.

Forthcoming steps:

The Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University (INSE) and French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD) team are planning to attend the “Finance in Common Summit 2023” in Colombia from September 4th to 6th. The team will hold a special session for the PDBs and DFIs database and present the updates in the database and progress in the flagship database reports. Please join and take the opportunity to explore opportunities for collaboration to advance the PDB and DFI database.

To learn more, please visit our data visualization website (http://www.dfidatabase.pku.edu.cn/) and download the database for free. For using the information from the database, please cite: Xu, Jiajun, Régis Marodon, Xinshun Ru, Xiaomeng Ren, and Xinyue Wu. 2021. “What are Public Development Banks and Development Financing Institutions? ——Qualification Criteria, Stylized Facts and Development Trends.” China Economic Quarterly International, volume 1, issue 4: 271-294.

We welcome feedback from academia, policymakers, practitioners from PDBs and DFIs, and other stakeholders to provide constructive suggestions and fill gaps in the database. Please contact us at nsedfi@nsd.pku.edu.cn.

Identifying PDBs and DFIs entails rigorous qualification criteria. The Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University (INSE) initiated to build the world's first database on PDBs and DFIs in September 2017, proposed the initial qualification criteria to discern PDBs and DFIs worldwide and launched the first comprehensive list of PDBs and DFIs in May 2019. Recognizing INSE's pilot effort, French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD), has joined hands with INSE to refine the qualification criteria and consistently update the list of PDBs and DFIs to make it as comprehensive as possible.