Frontiir: CDC

(asked on 13th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what due diligence was carried out by CDC on the company Frontiir, operating in Myanmar, prior to their investment in that company.


Answered by
James Duddridge Portrait
James Duddridge
This question was answered on 18th May 2020

In addition to a financial and development impact assessment, when making an investment CDC evaluates a wide range of Environmental and Social (E&S), as well as Business Integrity, risks through a rigorous due diligence process. All of CDC’s investments follow its Code of Responsible Investing.

In the case of CDC’s investment into Frontiir, this included a stand-alone E&S due diligence with the terms of reference explicitly aligned to the CDC Code of Responsible Investing. The methodology included a site visit to Frontiir’s operations and a review of relevant documentation. The scope of the due diligence placed a focus on contextual factors including implications for any disadvantaged or vulnerable groups, indigenous peoples, alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, forced labour/child labour, occupational health and safety and understanding how data security and privacy are handled, including censorship and government disclosure.

CDC provides further guidance on due diligence in its ESG Toolkit.

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