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EBRD financing boosts Bosnia and Herzegovina’s beer industry
As part of its continuing support for private sector development in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a seven-year DM 12 million (€6.1 million) convertible loan to Pivara Tuzla, one of the oldest and leading breweries in the country.
"This is the EBRD's second private industrial project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we would like to do more," said Charles Frank, the EBRD's Acting President. "The investment – coming as the privatisation process is just gaining speed – will act as an important signal that majority privately owned companies with solid management and good corporate governance can attract long-term financing. The investment should also highlight the potential of Bosnian companies to foreign investors."
The EBRD’s loan will finance Pivara Tuzla’s programme of modernisation, which was started before the war in 1991. As a result of the investment, the company will be able to improve production quality and efficiency, and provide the domestic market, comprising both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, with high-quality local products.
"Given the region's economic difficulties and complex business environment, Pivara Tuzla's growth in the post-war period is very impressive," said Hans Christian Jacobsen, Director of the EBRD's Agribusiness Team. "This success is not only due to the company’s well-recognised brand name and strong market position but also to the hard work of its employees and the competence of its management team."
Milan Vadjic, General Manager of Pivara Tuzla, said: "Since the end of the war, Pivara Tuzla has worked intensively to regain its pre-war production and market position while modernising its facilities. The partnership with the EBRD is an additional confirmation of the success of our hard work and strategy and now our primary goal is to continue the growth and profitability of the company."
Established in 1884, Pivara Tuzla is one of the largest beer producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is the leading brewery in the Tuzla canton. Pivara Tuzla produces beer as well as carbonated soft drinks and mineral water for the domestic market. The brewery employs 220 people.
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