Changchun, China, November 3, 2005
— The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement to provide a $4 million loan to China’s Changchun TBK Shili Auto Parts Co., to help them begin producing asbestos-free car brakes.
The loan will help finance construction of a plant to manufacture break linings without asbestos, reducing pollution and health risks in China. The country’s brake friction materials currently contain about 40 percent asbestos, a material linked to lung cancer.
The borrower is a joint venture between TBK Co., Ltd., Japan’s manufacturer of brake systems for trucks and buses, and Changchun
Shili Automobile Brake Parts Co., Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer of brake friction materials.
TBK’s advanced technology allows the company to produce non-asbestos brake linings at low cost, which will benefit its customers and while improving air quality. First Automotive Work group, China’s largest vehicle manufacturer, will use the linings in its commercial vehicles.
“This project will have significant positive impacts on the environment as well as contribute to local economic development,” said Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC’s Director for Global Manufacturing and Services. “This project underscores IFC’s commitment to supporting the transfer of advanced manufacturing technologies and established industrial practices to China and other emerging markets.”
IFC’s participation has played an important role in setting up the project. IFC’s unique status as an international organization and its expertise and experience in the Chinese market have given TBK comfort in dealing with its local partner and the government. IFC’s monitoring of the project’s implementation will also help ensure the success of key developmental impacts, including technology transfer and employee training.
The International Finance Corporation is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. IFC coordinates its activities with the other institutions of the World Bank Group but is legally and financially independent. Its 178 member countries provide its share capital and collectively determine its policies.
The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition 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. From its founding in 1956 through FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org.
