Washington, D.C., June 9, 2003—
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has restructured US$169.9 million in IFC's outstanding loans provided to Juan Minetti S.A. (Minetti), Argentina. The restructuring of IFC's loans includes A and C loans for IFC's own account and a B loan for the account of participating banks. This operation is part of the overall restructuring of the company's outstanding debt of US$276 million equivalent.
Minetti is the second biggest cement producer in Argentina and is controlled by Holcim, the world’s number two cement manufacturing group. The recent economic crisis in Argentina has deeply affected Minetti’s operations, forcing the company to operate at about 30 percent of its capacity. Minetti’s restructuring allows for a substantial reduction of its debt to a sustainable level of US$101.5 million.
Jyrki I. Koskelo, IFC Special Operations Director, said, "The successful closure of Minetti’s debt restructuring was largely due to the strong commitment of its shareholder. It must serve as an example for other Argentine companies, many of which are currently negotiating voluntary restructuring of their financial obligations."
Bernard Pasquier, IFC Director for Latin America, added, "We hope that the closure of this restructuring, the first of this magnitude, will have a demonstration effect and contribute to restore business confidence in Argentina."
Suellen L. Lazarus, IFC Director of Syndications and International Securities, said, “This is a very significant restructuring in IFC’s B loan portfolio, and shows IFC’s commitment with Argentina. We are very pleased that the banks were supportive of the restructuring effort.”
IFC's mission (
www.ifc.org
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. Since its founding in 1956, IFC has committed more than $34 billion of its own funds and arranged $21 billion in syndications for 2,825 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY02 was $15.1 billion.
