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Summary of Project Information (SPI)

This Summary of Project Information is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of the IFC Board of Directors’ consideration of the proposed transaction. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities, and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board decision. Board dates are estimates only.
Project number20468
Project nameMeteksan Sistem
CountryTurkey
SectorProfessional, Scientific And Technical Services
DepartmentGlobal Inform. & Comm. Tech.
Company nameMeteksan Sistem ve Bilgisayar Teknolojileri A.S.
Environmental categoryC
Date SPI disclosedSeptember 15, 2003
Projected board dateOctober 30, 2003
StatusActive
Previous EventsInvested: November 3, 2004
Signed: June 24, 2004
Approved: November 25, 2003

Description of company and purpose of project
Meteksan Sistem Ve Bilgisayar Teknolojileri AS (Meteksan, or the company) is one of Turkey’s leading information technology (IT) companies. The company’s primary focus is to provide turnkey IT solutions for government agencies, state-owned enterprises, and large and medium-sized private sector corporations. The company is headquartered in Ankara, Turkey and employs approximately 400 full-time staff.

The project consists of:
- refinancing short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt;
- financing capital expenditures; and
- funding working capital needs to position the company for growth.

The proposed IFC loan would extend the average maturity of the company’s debt beyond what is currently available in the market for Turkish companies.

Project sponsor and major shareholders of project company
Meteksan is 100% owned, through both direct and indirect ownership stakes, by Bilkent Holding (Holding or the sponsor), a holding company established in 1986 to consolidate a diverse group of companies for the purpose of providing services and financial support (through donations) to Bilkent University (the University), one of Turkey’s leading education institutes. Bilkent Holding is 100% owned by Bilkent University. Bilkent Holding currently operates in a number of sectors, including construction, furniture and fixtures, printing, pulp and paper, energy, tourism, and information technology.

Total project cost and proposed IFC investment
Total project cost over the next two years (2003-2004) is estimated to be approximately $20 million.

The proposed IFC investment consists of a senior secured loan of up to $8.5 million. The loan will be secured by an irrevocable bank guarantee, for all amounts payable to IFC over the life of the loan.

Location of project and description of site
The company is located in Ankara, Turkey and operates 19 local support offices throughout the country.

Project Development Impact and IFC's Role
The project is expected to have a significant development impact in the following areas:

- Jobs/Training.
The company currently employs over 400 people. The project will have a significant development impact by potentially creating a number of additional IT-related jobs in Turkey and by providing state-of-the-art training and skills development to recent university graduates, building a knowledge industry while improving public efficiency and governance.

- Healthcare.
Overall healthcare expenditures in Turkey have historically been quite low, which has resulted in a health care system that provides poor quality and inefficient services to the Turkish population. Meteksan will help to address this issue by providing medical institutions with modern clinical information systems, including hospital information systems, laboratory information systems, and radiology information systems.

- Education.
The Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE) is currently sponsoring several educational programs targeted at providing basic and higher-level education to the Turkish population. Though its Mobilsoft subsidiary, Meteksan has written numerous self-learning programs for children and adults.

IFC Role:

- Corporate Governance.
IFC’s investment will be conditioned on increased independence of Meteksan from other group companies. This will allow the company to optimize its capital structure and more aggressively pursue growth.

- Demonstration Effect.
The project would be IFC's first investment in a Turkish technology firm. An IFC investment at this time would support a later-stage technology company that has successfully grown to become one of the leading IT companies in Turkey. It would also provide the company with capital in a difficult financing environment. Following the 2001 financial crisis, it has been extremely difficult for Turkish companies to obtain hard currency credit, and it is still difficult for companies to raise financing from sources outside of Turkey. The project, thus presents an excellent opportunity to serve as a catalyst to bring other international investors into the market.

Environmental and social issues - Category C
This is a category C project according to IFC's environmental and social review procedure. There are minimal environmental or social impacts associated with this project. Therefore, no further environmental or social analysis is required.

If the construction of physical assets becomes necessary during the life of the IFC investment, the sponsor will notify IFC of such plans and obtain IFC's consent prior to commencing construction. In addition, the sponsor will develop procedures to appraise these projects and demonstrate compliance with all applicable environmental, occupational health, fire and life safety legislation and standards of the host country, as well as relevant World Bank Group environmental and social policies and guidelines.

The sponsor will develop a Corporate Environment and Social Policy Statement demonstrating their commitment to comply with all applicable environmental, occupational health, fire and life safety legislation and standards of the host country in which business is conducted, as well as relevant World Bank Group environmental and social policies, guidelines and industry best practice. The policy will indicate that the sponsors will not knowingly engage in any of the activities listed in the Exclusion List Annex A or Elements of a Code of Conduct for Internet/e-Commerce Projects.

The sponsor will also develop a Code of Conduct to be posted on their web site to address the issues raised in the Exclusion List and Elements of a Code of Conduct for Internet/e-Commerce Projects.

To contact the project company, please write to:
Andi Dervishi
adervishi@ifc.org