PACKAGED DEALS
Washington, D.C., October 19, 2000—The following
is a package of brief announcements about IFC transactions signed in the
past month for investments that will support private sector enterprises
in the developing world. Packaged Deals is a monthly digest of new IFC
investments that have not been announced in our regular press releases.
More information is available by contacting the Media Relations team listed
at the end.
The mission of IFC, part of the World Bank Group, is to promote private
sector investment in developing countries, which will reduce poverty and
improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the
developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets,
and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.
BULGARIA—FRUIT JUICE PRODUCTION
IFC will lend Euro 4.2 million loan (US$3.6 million) to Florina Bulgaria
S.A., to set up an integrated plant to make fruit juice and carbonated
drinks, capitalizing on Bulgaria's long-standing strength in fruit production.
Florina Bulgaria will add a soft drink production line and a line to prepare
fruit purees needed for high-quality fruit juices to its existing Tetra
Pak juice production line. The company began juice production in 1999 by
acquiring a defunct bread factory through privatization and converting
it into a juice packaging plant.
The sponsor is Florina A. Honeos S.A., a leading independent entrepreneur
in the juice and mineral water industry in Greece and across the Balkans.
The new Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, based in Thessaloniki, Greece,
is also providing a loan to the project.
INDONESIA—BANKING
IFC will invest $10 million in equity and quasi-equity in Indonesia's PT
Bank NISP to strengthen its capital base. This is NISP's second capital
increase after an investment by the prominent Hong Kong-based Regent Pacific
Group in late 1998.
NISP, which has established a regional market niche serving small and medium
clients, is one of the best-performing banks in Indonesia with a highly
professional and conservative management. It was recently classified by
Bank Indonesia as an "A Bank" with a current capital adequacy
ratio of about 13 percent. With an asset size of more than Rp.4.5 trillion
(about $500 million), it is the third largest private bank that does
not rely on government recapitalization. The strengthening of NISP's capital
base will allow the bank to take advantage of consolidation in the Indonesian
banking sector by expanding branch networks and business lines. It is also
an important signal of confidence to investors who remain reluctant to
commit investments to the Indonesian banking sector.
The government of Switzerland is supporting a technical assistance program
that will enable NISP to strengthen and enhance its capabilities by introducing
modern banking and management information practices.
BURUNDI—HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
IFC will provide a Euro loan equivalent to $464,000 to Vegetables and Flowers
Export SA, Burundi, for a $1.16 million project to produce high-quality
cut roses for export by air to Europe. Three hectares will be developed
to grow roses in wood-framed plastic-covered greenhouses, which are already
being successfully used by other producers in neighboring Tanzania and
Rwanda.
The project will create employment, earn foreign exchange, and serve as
a demonstration model for the diversification of exports, beyond the traditional
tea and coffee export base. The sponsors are Mr. and Mrs. H. Ndikumasabo.
He is a prominent Burundian businessman with a coffee export business and
cattle and dairy interests.
CHAD—MILK PROCESSING
IFC will provide a Euro loan equivalent to $342,000 to Demba'Lait, Chad,
to set up a $755,000 milk-processing plant in N'Djamena. The plant will
process about 4,000 liters of milk per day into pasteurized and curdled
milk, cream, butter, and yogurt. Besides adding value to local raw milk,
the project will increase incomes and extension services to independent
dairy farmers of the rural suburbs of N'Djamena and transfer technology
and know-how to the dairy sector in Chad.
IFC's loan is the first small business investment in Chad since the country
became an IFC member in April 1988 and is expected to give a positive signal
to the local business community and to foreign investors. The
main project sponsors are Mr. Tite Demba, an agricultural engineer who
has specialized in dairy technology, and his brother Mr. Emmanuel Demba,
both Chadian nationals.
NAMIBIA—TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
IFC will lend $1 million to establish Gateway Hotel, a 70-room, three-star
international hotel and conference center in Namibia's main port city of
Walvis Bay. Walvis Bay has a significant shortage of good-quality facilities
for business and government meetings. Gateway Hotel will be managed by
the Zimbabwe-based company and regional hotel operator, Cresta Hospitality,
a previous IFC client, which operates 13 properties in southern Africa.
The total project cost is $3.42 million.
The project is expected to generate 45 direct jobs for the indigenous population
in the Walvis Bay area, and the events and conference catering will create
many other indirect jobs. The main sponsors are United Africa Namibia Holdings
(Pty) Limited, owned by Namibian businessman Mr. Haddis Tilahun, and Pamue
Investment Corporation (Pty) Limited.
NIGERIA—TRANSPORT COMPANY
IFC will provide a $900,000 loan to Nigerian bus company, Oha Motors Nigeria
Limited, to acquire six new 55-seater buses at a cost of $2.27 million.
The company has a fleet of 23 modern buses and has been in the transportation
business since 1994. The new buses will be supplied by Volvo do Brasil
Veiculos LTDA through its sole distributor, Concieto Motors Nigeria Limited,
and will expand the company's interstate transport business by tapping
into the growing market on the Lagos-Abuja route. Demand for bus services
has soared with the increase in traffic between the national capital of
Abuja and Nigeria's principal city of Lagos.
The project will bolster public transportation, a vital economic sector
that is severely underserved in Nigeria. The project sponsor is the Ohamadike
family. Mr. Uche Ohamadike, the managing director, is a chemical engineer
and businessman, who worked for his father's spare motor parts retail outlets
before developing the bus operations business.
NIGERIA—BICYCLE RIMS
IFC will provide a $700,000 loan to Nigerian company Gurmeet Nigeria Limited
to manufacture replacement rims for bicycles and motorcycles. Rims currently
must be imported from India and China. The company has successfully traded
in bicycles and accessories for three years. The project, which will cost
about $2.29 million, will produce quality rims at affordable prices and
help improve the use of replacements.
The project will ensure that higher-quality bicycles—an essential mode
of transport in rural areas—with cheaper, locally produced rims, will
continue to be within the reach of low-income groups in Nigeria. The sponsors
are Messrs. Pritam Savalani, Nari Gwalani, Arun Gwalani, and Mallam Bashir
Tahir. The main promoter, Pritam Savalani, will be managing director and
CEO of the company.
ZAMBIA—INTERNET SERVICES
IFC will invest $100,00 in equity and $340,000 in debt in a Zambian internet
company, Qnet Communication Systems Limited. Qnet will provide basic internet
services to 7,500 individuals and business subscribers, including electronic
information and data management; communication and support services in
the form of training and installation; and development services on internet
connectivity and web development. The estimated cost of the project is
$1 million.
The project will expand an information service that is becoming vital to
the development of Zambian industry and services; increase competition
in a market that has so far been dominated by one supplier; introduce up-to-date
technology in a crucial sector; and support the emergence of the Zambian
business community. The major sponsor is Quantum Technology Africa Limited,
a leading Zambian technology company, equally owned by Zambian residents,
Mr. and Mrs. Ravinder Raina. Quantum has a 75 percent shareholding in Qnet
with the balance being held by Zambian businessmen.
AFRICA—BUSINESSWOMEN SUCCEED DESPITE OBSTACLES
While women entrepreneurs in Africa face widespread gender discrimination
in obtaining financing for viable projects, they can still succeed when
they get the right kind of support. That was the message six leading African
businesswomen brought to a presentation of the semi-annual board meetings
in Accra, Ghana, of the African Project Development Facility (APDF), a
support service for African small and medium enterprises managed by IFC.
The businesswomen commented on an independent study of APDF's impact on
women entrepreneurs that was recently conducted by Nairobi-based consultant
Gathoni Mungai. The study, done at the request of the Norwegian government,
found that APDF has proved far more receptive to working with female business
owners than most African financial institutions, attracting a total of
$16.2 million in financing for 42 woman-sponsored projects, or 14 percent
of all those APDF has completed over its 14-year history. Africa's banks,
in contrast, are estimated to devote less than 5 percent of their portfolios
to projects promoted by women. APDF has recently stepped up its efforts
to attract private capital to woman-sponsored businesses, a step it sees
as important in addressing gender imbalances that contribute to widespread
poverty in Africa.
The author of the report encouraged APDF to use its links to both the World
Bank and the business community to take creative new steps to attract more
private capital to woman-sponsored projects. The banking status quo on
the continent was not acceptable for Africa's businesswomen, she said.
Funded by IFC in partnership with donor institutions, APDF offers a full
range of pre- and postinvestment services for African small and medium
enterprises. Working from offices in Accra, Abidjan, Lagos, Harare, Johannesburg,
and Nairobi, it supports projects with typical investment costs in the
$250,000 to $7 million range but at times considers smaller or larger projects
if warranted by conditions in the entrepreneur's country and socio-economic
impact of the project.
For more information on any of these transactions, please contact one of
the following people:
Ludi Joseph, (202) 473-7700, ljoseph@ifc.org
AFRICA & ASIA
Jannette Esguerra, (202) 458-5204, jesguerra@ifc.org
MIDDLE EAST & LATIN AMERICA
Brigid Janssen, (202) 458-4698, bjanssen@ifc.org
EUROPE
Lynn Véronneau, (202) 473-6005, lveronneau@ifc.org
GENERAL PRESS INFO
|
