IFC, China-Mexico fund to pump $200 mln into Citla

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's private-sector investment arm, and the private equity firm China-Mexico Fund on Wednesday announced a $200 million investment in Citla Energy, a new Mexican oil company.

The IFC said the investment was prompted by the "attractive economic conditions" in Mexico's energy sector, following a sweeping overhaul in 2013 that ended the nearly 80-year-old monopoly of state-owned oil giant Pemex.

The IFC said it would commit $60 million to Citla, and channel the rest from the China-Mexico Fund, a $1.2 billion private equity fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company.

The World Bank unit had some $1.4 billion invested in Mexico as of July 2015, its seventh-biggest investment in the world.

Citla was founded last year by ACON Investments, a U.S. investment firm that manages private funds that invest in the United States and Latin America, according to Citla's website.

Citla plans to expand its oil exploration and production in Mexico through awards of bids, acquisitions, and partnerships with other operators, the IFC said in a statement.

Reporting by Adriana Barrera