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Moscow, June 30, 2004—
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, provided a $35 million loan to OJSC Experimental-Cannery Lebedyansky, a leading producer of branded packed juices and juice drinks in Russia. IFC’s loan will support the company’s expansion and modernization plans to improve efficiency, increase production capacity, expand product portfolio, and strengthen its distribution network.
The $87 million investment program will allow the company to cater to the growing demand for juices, nectars and other soft drinks in Russia. The company will introduce new aseptic PET packaging to increase sales of fruit drinks. Lebedyansky will further diversify its product portfolio via acquisitions of new businesses, which are complementary to its core business. As a part of the investment program, Lebedyansky will also improve its environmental and occupation and health management systems and controls to the best international benchmarks.
“This investment reflects IFC's strategy in Russia to support locally owned companies in key sectors. Our investment in Lebedyansky will contribute to the development of Russia's food and beverage sector, an important sector in diversifying the country's economy, promoting growth and creating jobs.” said Edward Nassim, IFC’s Director of the Central and Eastern Europe Department.
Jean-Paul Pinard, IFC’s Director of the Agribusiness Department said, “Investment in Lebedyansky represents an important milestone for IFC Agribusiness in Russia as we continue to support the leading, well managed and transparent locally owned companies in Russia. We are looking forward to a long-term, productive cooperation with Lebedyansky and to seeing it develop into a leading regional player in Eastern Europe.”
Yuriy Bortsov, Lebedyansky’s Chairman of the Board said, “Market leadership is Lebedyansky’s core value. The agreement with IFC demonstrates that we have grown from a small local plant to a dynamic, fast growing international company. We are convinced that cooperation with IFC will be a solid base for our further growth and success.”
Lebedyansky (
www.tonus.ru
)
. Lebedyansky is a leading producer of juices, nectars and canned baby-food in Russia. Lebedyansky’s mission is to be a leader in healthy food products for children and adults on international markets. The company produces natural fruit and value-added juices, nectars, berry drinks, refreshing fruit drinks, ice-teas and canned baby food under popular brand names: Ya, Tonus, Fruktovy Sad, Privet, Frustyle and Frutonyanya. Lebedyansky is a fast growing enterprise. It's market share has grown from 2.6% in 1997 to more than 27% in 2003. The turnover of the company had grown from $15 million to $274 million in the same period. Lebedyansky has branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk in Russia, as well as Kiev, Ukraine and Alma-Aty, Kazakhstan.
Product quality plays a central role in Lebedyansky’s business strategy. The company has ISO-9001 quality management certificate. In 2002, Lebedyansky invested $500,000 in a state-of-the-art laboratory that guarantees highest quality and safety of the company’s products. Lebedyansky’s juices have received numerous prestigious awards including "Brand of the Year" and " Product of the Year" in Russia. In 2002, Lebedyansky was recognized as "Company of the Year" in the Russian food industry
.
International Finance Corporation (
www.ifc.org
).
Russia joined IFC in 1993. Since then through the end of March, 2004, IFC has committed $1.53 billion, including $210 million in syndicated loans, to finance 74 projects across a variety of sectors. IFC significantly increased its investment program in Russia in the last fiscal year (July 2002 – June 2003), approving nearly $700 million of investments. IFC's increased activity reflects the improving investment climate in Russia, greater opportunities in an increasingly broad range of sectors, and stronger foreign investor interest.
The International Finance Corporation is a member of the World Bank Group. IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in transition economies, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the emerging markets, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY03, IFC has committed more than $37 billion of its own funds and arranged $22 billion in syndications for 2,990 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC's worldwide committed portfolio as of FY03 was $16.8 billion for its own account and $6.6 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
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