Thank you, Co-Chairs.

The chapter on domestic and international private business and finance holds much promise and potential. Yet since the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the mobilization of private capital for sustainable development has not met the rising needs and realities of developing countries. Despite some notable initiatives, we observe a concerning decrease of foreign direct investments in developing countries, and those in most need are getting left behind. Regulatory constraints that inhibit private investors, coupled with misperceptions of risks stemming from credit ratings that do not capture the totality of opportunities in developing countries, perpetuate the situation.

The G-77 and China view FFD4 as an important opportunity for a paradigm shift that will catalyze more private investments, building on progress made thus far, and taking bolder steps. In particular, we want FFD4 to address structural barriers that inhibit the flow of private capital and strengthen an enabling environment at all levels to facilitate robust, stable, development-oriented and long-term investments in developing countries.

The text identifies actions at the national and international levels. Strengthening domestic capital markets, as well as improving MSMEs access to financing in developing countries. The private sector in developing countries must be supported so developing countries can diversify and enhance productivity of their economies to create more decent jobs and opportunities. We support and propose additional actions in the text that assist developing countries in attracting more investments for sustainable development in key sectors, such as sustainable infrastructure and energy, among others.

We see a critical role for MDBs in de-risking, providing seed capital, guarantees, and local currency lending to help scale up blended financing models that can crowd in the private sector in support of national development strategies. We urge more technical assistance for developing countries for effective and attractive project pipelines.

Creating innovative financial instruments through thematic, sustainability-linked bonds and other types of bonds, including sukuk, where appropriate, can contribute to developing local capital market and increasing fiscal space and share risks and rewards between the public and private sectors.

While ESG standards and regulations for the private sector are increasingly gaining ground, they should not overburden developing countries and leave enterprises in them less competitive. Furthermore, it must also take into account the different realties, circumstances, and priorities of developing countries. We also see the need to balance the text in terms of the examples cited, and underscore the importance of inclusive platforms and taking into account national and local circumstances.

We note some areas of early convergence in the text, including the section on remittances and better harnessing them for sustainable development through enhancing digital and financial literacy for migrants and their families.

Having said this, we reiterate that private business and finance is a complement to and not a replacement for ODA. The notion that the private sector can fill the sustainable development financing gap without ODA and international public resources is neither realistic nor admirable.
The G-77 and China will continue to engage constructively on this chapter.

Thank you.