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EBRD supports expansion of leading snack food producer in SEE
€10 million loan to help Marbo Product improve efficiency, promote regional exports
Marbo Product, the largest producer of potato chips and other snack foods in Southeast Europe, is set to expand further with the help of a €10 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The privately owned maker of popular local snack food brands like Chipsy, Clipsy and Max, Marbo Product, which has plants in Serbia and Montenegro and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will use the EBRD loan to diversify its range of products, improve efficiency and increase production to export its products to neighbouring countries. The Bank's six-year loan, offering a longer maturity than currently available in Serbia, will also help improve the company's standards of corporate governance in line with international practices.
Hans Christian Jacobsen, Director for Agribusiness at the EBRD, said the success of Marbo Product lies in its management. The entrepreneurs who launched Marbo Product in 1995 have today created a leading company in Southeast Europe, and it is successful companies like this that make market economies work, Mr Jacobson added. By using raw materials produced by local farmers, Marbo Product's expansion will also boost the local economy.
Radosav Milanovic, Director at Marbo Product, said the EBRD loan will help the company achieve its strategy of remaining a top producer of snack foods in the Balkans and becoming a household name across the region. "It is this long-term loan that will give us the breathing space to enable our company to improve production, efficiency and distribution networks, and to help export our products to other countries in the Balkans," Mr Milanovic said.
The EBRD is the largest private investor in Southeast Europe. Speaking at the signing ceremony in Belgrade, Dragica Pilipovic-Chaffey, the new Director for Serbia and Montenegro, said the project is part of the Bank's ongoing commitment to the region. In Serbia alone the EBRD has a pipeline of potential projects for 2003 and 2004 worth around €500 million, and the Bank plans to disburse close to €150 million this year. Ms Pilipovic-Chaffey added that this transaction, happening so soon after the recent tragic events, is an important signal to foreign investors and the local population. She said the pace of investment is strong, and will remain so as long as reforms continue to bolster the investment climate.
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