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EBRD invests €14 million in Czech malting industry
As part of a $50 million EBRD facility to promote malting and milling industries in Central and Eastern Europe, the EBRD has agreed to lend €14 million to Malterie Soufflet République tchéque s.r.o. to acquire shares in Obchodní sladovny a.s., the malting subsidiary of the Czech company Tchecomalt Group a.s.
The loan to the subsidiary of Groupe Soufflet, the French agribusiness company, is the fifth investment under the facility, set up in 1998 to help Soufflet expand its businesses across the region. The loan, as with previous loans to Soufflet subsidiaries, will help improve the efficiency of malt and barley production, and provide a stable source of income for local farmers. It is the Bank's second loan to Malterie Soufflet République tchéque, after a €10 million investment in 2001 for the acquisition of the Moravska Sladovna Kromeriz malting plant.
Hans Christian Jacobsen, Director of Agribusiness at EBRD, said the partnership with Groupe Soufflet has promoted the growth of agribusiness, and especially the malting industry, in the EBRD's countries of operations. The EBRD loan will help Groupe Soufflet to expand in the region. Mr Jacobsen emphasised Groupe Soufflet's commitment to promoting agribusiness and supporting local farmers and farming communities in central and eastern Europe.
Groupe Soufflet has worked actively in the region for more than five years and continues to increase its support to local farmers by focusing on ways to replace imports of malting barley with local production. EBRD will continue to support the Groupe Soufflet's efforts to develop farming communities and improve the quality of malt across the region.
"Since the Soufflet Group adopted a development policy in the central and eastern European countries, the EBRD has strongly contributed to strongly our malting division and we are confident of continuous cooperation in the future," said Jean-Michel Soufflet, head of the Management Board of Groupe Soufflet.
Founded in 1900 by the Soufflet family, Groupe Soufflet is one of the leading malting companies in the world, with activities in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia. The Soufflet family has grown to be the one of the largest purchasers of French grain and exports products throughout the European Union, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The group has been recently expanding its operations to eastern Europe. Soufflet employs approximately 2,400 people.
To date, EBRD has invested over €2 billion in more than 140 agribusiness projects across central and eastern Europe and the CIS.
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The EBRD aims to foster the transition from centrally planned to market economies in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is owned by 60 countries, the European Investment Bank and the European Community.
The EBRD holds its Annual Meeting in Bucharest, May 19-20. Visit the EBRD's website at: www.ebrd.com
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