WASHINGTON, D.C., March 1, 1999 –The International Finance Corporation has invested US$2.7 million and acquired a 21% stake in Global Hotels Development Group Poland S.A. to develop a chain of Holiday Inn hotels in regional cities of Poland.
IFC's total investment in the project will comprise US$3.6 million in equity and US$7.2 million in long-term loans, as part of a US$43 million package for the first phase of the chain's development.
Global Hotels Development Group Poland S.A. is a hotel management company established by Global Group of Companies Sp. z o.o., the Polish Enterprise Fund, and private investors. It was formed to open and operate 20 Holiday Inn-franchised hotels in Poland over the next 10 years. Polish Enterprise Fund, managed by Enterprise Investors, is the lead equity investor in this project.
Global Hotels opened its first Holiday Inn hotel in January 1999, in the center of Gdansk, Poland's main port city on the Baltic Sea. Several other hotel sites are under development in various parts of Poland, with opening of the Wroclaw Holiday Inn scheduled for the end of 1999.
Mr. Harold Rosen, IFC Director for Central and Southern Europe, said that the project is designed to encourage private investment in Poland's regions and will help to overcome the shortage of quality hotel accommodation outside of the capital city. By facilitating development of business and tourist travel, the project will help to spread benefits of economic development outside of Warsaw and create job opportunities in the service industry.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters economic growth in the developing world by financing private sector investments, mobilizing capital in the international financial markets, and providing technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.IFC has been investing in Poland since 1988 and has approved investments of $556 million in equity and loans for 30 projects in sectors including manufacturing, services and banking.
