WASHINGTON, DC, July 2 -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing a US$3.5 million loan and a US$1 million equity investment to help finance the US$24.5 million privatization, rehabilitation, and expansion of Achimota Brewery Company (ABC) in Accra, Ghana. The sale of ABC by the Government of Ghana represents the largest non-mining privatization in Ghana to date. A rehabilitation and expansion program will enable the brewery to upgrade its equipment and improve product quality. ABC plans to increase annual production from 54,000 to 250,000 hectoliters by 1997 and diversify into the production of soft drinks. The project's main sponsor is Holsten Brauerei AG, Germany's fourth largest brewery. In addition to IFC, other equity financing is being provided by the company's employees; AMS Anlagenplanung GmbH, the brewery management company; DEG, the German Finance Company for Investments in Developing Countries; Ghana's Social Security National Insurance Trust; and National Investment Bank. DEG is
also providing a US$3.5 million loan. IFC provided advice to the project sponsors on restructuring the company's debt, helped structure the share capital of the company to achieve majority Ghanaian ownership, and secured a commitment from the other shareholders to have the company listed on the Ghanaian stock exchange within five years. IFC also ensured that environmental impacts would be minimized by the installation of a new wastewater treatment plant, the most advanced of any brewery in Ghana. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral institution providing financing for private sector projects in developing countries.
