Martin Burns Limited

Maximizing the effectiveness of existing financial instruments The Fund’s current financial instruments include grants and concessional loans. In addition to the additional financial instruments described throughout this document, the Fund can also maximize the effectiveness of its existing financial instruments, especially grants. Grants need not necessarily be a one-time disbursement with no expectation of repayment; grants can also be used so that they are “recycled” and thus greatly increase their leverage and catalytic effect. Recycling represents the ability to be repaid and then redeploy the funding for a future, separate use. In this form of use, one grant may be deployed to bring many successive projects or programmes to fruition. The Fund would also retain the option to use grants as a one-time disbursement. A central feature of traditional grants is that there is no expectation of repayment for grants as traditionally defined. This has the potential of creating distortin...

Entering into a commercial or financial transaction always involves certain risks for the seller or the financier. The most serious risk is that of not being paid. There are many methods available to help ensure payment. One such method is through the use of a letter of credit. The letter of credit substitutes the credit of a third party, usually a bank, for that of the buyer or debtor. In transactions in which a commercial letter of credit is used, the bank agrees to pay the seller for the goods sold, usually upon presentation of a document stating that the goods have been received by the buyer. In transactions in which a standby letter of credit is used, the bank agrees to pay the financier if the debtor defaults upon his obligation to pay. In both cases, the seller or financier is assured of payment, provided the conditions of the letter of credit are satisfied. Upon payment by the bank, the buyer or debtor is obligated to reimburse the bank. Three legal relationships exist in a...