Press Release

IFC Supports Şişecam to Sustain Operations Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

August 20, 2021

glass_packaging-production.jpgIstanbul, Turkey, August 20, 2021—A recent investment by IFC will help fill a critical, COVID-impacted funding need for Türkiye Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları A.Ş. (Şişecam), a leading industrial company headquartered in Turkey.The IFC funding will help Sisecam sustain its operations, contributing to its post-COVID recovery through increased competitiveness, exports, and economic activity.

IFC provided a Euro-denominated, US$75 million equivalent loan to Şişecam, a long-standing IFC client.  The IFC financing will help Şişecam implement its capital expenditure program delayed by COVID-19 and finance its working capital needs, alleviating the impact of the pandemic. IFCs financing will also promote resilience in the economy, limiting disruptions along supply chains and ensuring a continued supply of Şişecam's products used as input across various key industries, including automotive, food and beverage, construction, and pharmaceuticals. 

Şişecam is one of the world's leading glass and chemicals production companies. IFC has supported Şişecam for over 50 years as it expanded globally across Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. IFC's relationship with Sisecam is built around the more than 30 projects it has supported over the years. IFC first supported Sisecam as a major exporter in Turkey, and then as a global manufacturer with various South-South investments, most recently as a cross-border investor with operations in Egypt, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Bosnia.  

The loan to Şişecam is funded through IFC's $2 billion Real Sector Crisis Response Facility, a part of IFC's broader $8 billion COVID-19 Fast-Track Financing Facility to support private companies and their employees negatively impacted by the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.  

"Şişecam has long been a major contributor to the value-add production, exports, and employment in Turkey," said Arnaud Dupoizat, IFC's Country Manager for Turkey. "While providing support to our long-term partner, our financing amid a volatile domestic and international macroenvironment—exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—will contribute to Turkey's competitiveness, accelerating recovery and ensuring sustainable growth." 

IFC has supported private sector development in Turkey for over 50 years, with a committed exposure of over $4.3 billion in the country as of June 2021.

About IFC

IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2020, we invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

About Şişecam

One of the most established enterprises in Turkey, Şişecam is a global actor in business lines, including flat glass, glassware, glass packaging and glass fiber, and soda and chromium chemicals. Şişecam, globally one of the two largest producers in glassware and the five largest producers in glass packaging and flat glass today, is the world's eighth-largest soda producer and the world leader in chromium compounds. Operating in Turkey, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Russian Federation, Georgia, Ukraine, Egypt, India, and the USA, Şişecam plays a leading role in flat glass, glassware, glass packaging, chemicals, automotive, glass fiber, mining, energy, and recycling business lines. As a company on an international scale with over 85 years of experience, 22,000 employees, production activities spanning 14 countries on four continents, and sales in 150 countries, Şişecam continues on its journey to become one of the top three global producers in its all-main business lines. For more information, visit www.sisecam.com.

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Tolga Sobaci
Istanbul
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