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| 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. |
Summary of Project Information (SPI) |
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| Project number | 11378 |
| Project name | Belisce Expansion |
| Country | Croatia |
| Sector | Pulp & Paper |
| Department | Global Manufacturing & Services |
| Company name | Belisce d.d. |
| Environmental category | B |
| Date SPI disclosed | March 26, 2002 |
| Projected board date | April 25, 2002 |
| Status | Active |
| Previous Events | Invested: November 4, 2002
Signed: September 2, 2002
Approved: June 28, 2002 |
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| Project sponsor and major shareholders of project company |
With a major market share in Croatia, Belisce d.d. (Belisce or the company) is the dominant packaging paper and packaging material producer in Croatia. The company has been in the wood processing business for over 117 years, of which in the last 40 years in chemical and mechanical wood processing - production and sales of packaging paper and corrugated products.
Since 1993, Belisce has been a joint stock company. The company''s subsidiaries include a wood processing plant, an electrical equipment plant, and Croatia's largest paper recycling company. Belisce has a diversified shareholder base: employees (about 42%), Privredna Bank Zagreb - PBZ, a part of Intessa Group of Italy - (15%), Biokalnik - a local box plant (8%), IFC (20%) and local investment and privatization funds (15%).
The company has 1,800 employees, less than a half of the number in the mid 1980's. Production of packaging papers and corrugated board packaging accounts for more than 90% of total operations. Belisce consists of the following units: pulp and paper mills, box plant, spiral and plastic packaging plant, power plant, maintenance department, transport department. |
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| Total project cost and proposed IFC investment |
| The total project cost is estimated at EUR46 million (US$40.8 million equivalent). The proposed IFC investment is A loan for IFC's own account in the amount of up to EUR10 million, and a syndicated B loans up to EUR13 million. |
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| Location of project and description of site |
| Based in a heavily forested area, Belisce's production facilities (packaging paper and materials production) are located on the Drava river in Croatia, near the Hungarian and Yugoslav border. Valkarton's facilities (packaging material production) are located in Slovenia: Logatec and Rakek (close to Ljubljana), and in Skopje, Macedonia. |
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| Description of company and purpose of project |
Belisce is the dominant packaging paper and packaging material producer in Croatia. Thanks to a long tradition in the wood industry and its proven management capabilities, Belisce has consistently performed well and is a key employer and source of revenue in the Croatian region. The project is to support the corporate expansion and modernization program of Belisce which aims at making the company a leading producer of packaging paper and materials in the Balkan region. Belisce is already a major player in its home market - Croatia - and in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Most of the modernization of Belisce's own facilities has already been completed with IFC financing during 1997-98. The proposed project will consist of the following components: (i) further modernizing of Belisce's internal facilities; (ii) acquiring and modernizing of Valkarton, a Slovenian corrugated box producer with a subsidiary in FYR Macedonia; and (iii) restructuring of existing debt.
The proposed investment will have a strong developmental impact as it will: (i) support the development of a locally managed company; (ii) ensure that the most significant employer in the town of Belisce will become a regionally competitive company; (iii) reduce Belisce's dependence on the domestic market; and (iv) assist the company in the restructuring of its expensive debts and their rescheduling, lending further support to the strategic reorganization and long-term viability of a leading Croatian company. Belisce is the largest employer in the Slavonia County (east Croatia), which is one of the war-devastated regions in Croatia. It plays an active role in the local community through corporate sponsorships of cultural and athletic facilities and bodies. The proposed transaction will help the company to maintain market leadership in Croatia and grow further within the South European region. |
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| Environmental and social issues - Category B |
This is a Category B project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects, because a limited number of specific environmental and/or social impacts may result which, can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria.
To view the environmental documents for this project, click here
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| Location of environmental documents in locally affected community |
| Belisce published the ERS in the local paper Vjesnik. The article is available in the Public Relations office of the company and in the local library. |
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| To contact the project company, please write to: |
Mr. Vlado Jerbic, General Manager
Belisce, Trg Ante Starcevica 1, Croatia.
Phone: 385-31-663-111
Fax: 385-31-663-306 |
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