OECD Guidance on Reducing Poverty and Inequalities through Development Co-operation
OECD
UK public financial bodies
British International Investment
Formerly CDC Group
Wholly ownedInternational · Africa, Asia and other eligible developing markets
The UK’s development finance institution invests in private businesses and funds in developing economies. Government owns the institution; its portfolio investments sit beneath that shareholding.
- UK ownership or participation
- 100% of ordinary shares held by FCDO for the UK government
- Lead department or body
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- UK voting rights
- Sole shareholder
- Mandate
- International development
UK financial position
UK shareholding carrying value£9.880bn31 March 2026
FCDO balance-sheet fair value; not cumulative cash invested. Note 6, printed p.191.
Underlying source ↗New UK share subscriptions£480mFY 2025–26
Includes £60m for Ukraine; funded with promissory notes. Subscription is distinct from cash encashment.
Underlying source ↗Planned new UK capital£429mFY 2026–27 to 2028–29
FCDO plan announced 23 April 2026 for core portfolio and Ukraine; not evidence of payment.
Underlying source ↗Accounting values, paid-in capital and funding commitments have different meanings and reporting dates. These figures are not added together.
Institution finances and activity
These describe the institution or the assets it administers. They are separate from the UK government’s holding.
Gross investment commitments£1.82bnCalendar year 2025
BII commitments to investees during the year, not new capital paid by government.
Underlying source ↗Ownership and accountability
FCDO agrees the strategy and investment parameters and appoints the chair and two non-executive directors. BII’s board and management make day-to-day investment decisions.
Research hub
27 publications relevant to BII · Institution-specific research shown first
Investment targets can push development finance institutions towards easier deals
Africa at LSE, London School of Economics and Political Science
The UK’s development partnership with Nigeria — Government Response
House of Commons
News and announcements
View in News and announcements →- UKGI reviews the value, returns and risks of government investments ↗
The Financial Investment Report 2026 examines a defined government loan and equity portfolio, financial-return measures and risk controls. It provides a cross-government view of investment oversight and explains the staged introduction of risk budgeting. It reports historical assets rather than a new capital allocation.
View in Research hub → - Financial Transaction Control Framework — October 2026 update ↗
Updates the process for institutions seeking Treasury designation as public financial institutions and adds a draft chapter on devolved financial investment. It describes proposed arrangements involving mayors, devolved governments and existing institutions. Chapter six remains draft and is due to be revised before April 2028 following further engagement.
View in Research hub → - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 2025–26 overview ↗
Reviews FCDO’s responsibilities, spending and financial risks, including its BII investment, multilateral financing and guarantees. The overview distinguishes guarantee exposure from its valuation and stresses the information and expertise needed to oversee performance, development impact and value for money. It also discusses IDA within the department’s spending priorities.
View in Research hub → - FCDO sets out BII’s five-year South-East Asia climate finance target ↗
The FCDO reports a $1.6bn climate finance target for South-East Asia over five years, combining roughly equal amounts of BII capital and expected private investment. The announcement does not specify the exact five-year period. This is a target for investment and mobilisation, not a new government equity subscription or money already invested.
- OECD Guidance on Reducing Poverty and Inequalities through Development Co-operation ↗
Chapter 3 examines how development finance institutions and blended finance can support poverty and inequality goals. It calls for attention to additionality and development outcomes alongside the amount of private finance mobilised. BII’s inclusive score appears as an example of an approach to investment selection, drawing on earlier evidence.
View in Research hub → - ICAI’s assessment of initial follow-up — UK aid for energy transition ↗
Assesses the government’s initial response to ICAI’s review of UK aid for energy transition. ICAI identifies progress in coordination, governance and monitoring, while seeking clearer plans for mobilising private finance and noting slow implementation of some partnerships. The assessment covers early decisions and plans, including work involving BII and PIDG, rather than completed development impacts.
View in Research hub → - LSE commentary examines how investment targets shape DFI decisions ↗
O’Donohoe and Tahir argue that volume targets can favour easier deals. Their commentary asks government shareholders to examine borrowers’ financing constraints, the case for public support and promising investments institutions could not finance. These are comparative lessons, rather than findings about BII. Wasim Tahir, the Monitor’s creator and editor, is a co-author.
View in Research hub → - GEMs adds evidence on development-bank lending risk and credit spreads ↗
The consortium’s new private-lending report examines pooled default and recovery experience and pilots analysis of contractual credit spreads. BII, IFC and EBRD belong to GEMs. The results can inform shareholder scrutiny and private-investor risk assessment, but do not represent returns on the UK’s holdings.
View in Research hub → - CGD reviews how development banks assess market impact ↗
Reviews public information on 17 institutions’ market-impact methodologies, targets, incentives and reporting. The authors find substantial differences and gaps in the evidence shareholders can use to assess how investment decisions affect markets.
View in Research hub → - Development banks revise how they measure mobilisation and private finance ↗
BII, through EDFI, and UK-backed multilateral banks are covered by a new joint methodology package. It updates mobilisation rules and adds a separate generation measure for institution-backed finance; work on catalysation continues. The guides require these different indicators to remain separate. No new UK financial commitment is announced.
View in Research hub → - CGD examines how UK public-finance channels support climate goals ↗
Rob Moore and Ian Mitchell examine BII investment, UKEF support and UK guarantees through multilateral banks alongside aid spending. Their paper calls for stronger coordination and reporting. Its estimates and future scenarios depend on explicit assumptions and do not establish new capital payments.
View in Research hub → - OECD examines how shareholders can strengthen private capital mobilisation ↗
New OECD research examines mandates, risk frameworks and staff incentives across development banks and DFIs, including BII and UK-backed multilaterals. It argues that mobilisation targets need to account for additionality and harder markets.
View in Research hub → - Government responds to scrutiny of BII’s role in Nigeria ↗
The government response describes BII’s work on inclusion and fragile contexts following the committee’s concern about forced displacement in investment decisions. It separately rejects a new review of risks to the wider UK–Nigeria partnership, citing existing oversight arrangements.
View in Research hub → - Final aid statistics report BII capital and UKEF debt relief for 2025 ↗
Final statistics record £480 million for BII’s capital increase in calendar 2025. Dated FCDO records confirm this is the promissory-note subscription already recorded for FY2025–26; the shareholder review separately reports £70 million of cash drawdowns in 2025. The statistics also record £135 million of UKEF debt relief, comprising £68 million for Ghana and £67 million for Sri Lanka. These are distinct measures of earlier activity, not new September 2026 payments.
View UKEF profile → - UK International Climate Finance: Sustaining Commitments and Impact Amid a Shrinking Aid Budget ↗
Examines the UK’s climate-finance approach, including BII investment, UKEF support and guarantees to multilateral development banks. The committee recommends measurable private-capital mobilisation targets, evidence on where finance reaches and what it achieves, and stronger UK oversight of multilateral partners. It also scrutinises whether funding reaches the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries.
View in Research hub → - FCDO reports £480m of new BII share subscriptions ↗
The 2025–26 accounts record subscriptions funded by promissory notes and a £9.880bn year-end carrying value for the UK’s holding.
- Government agrees BII’s 2026–31 strategy ↗
The strategy targets £7–8bn of investment commitments, mainly financed by investment reflows. FCDO plans £429m in new capital over three financial years.
- Locally led development and development finance institutions: the case of British International Investment ↗
This civil society assessment examines BII’s approach to locally led development, focusing on who shapes investment decisions and who receives finance. Drawing on public data, policy analysis and stakeholder discussions, the author recommends stronger local participation, greater support for locally owned businesses and clearer accountability for development outcomes.
View in Research hub →