|
Uzbek textile plant gets $1.2 million EBRD loan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending $1.2 million
to privately held, Tashkent-based Gisad O’zbek, to finance part of the Uzbek
textile company’s start-up working capital. Gisad O’zbek will use locally
produced yarn to manufacture about 5,000 tonnes a year of knitted cotton
fabric, mostly for export.
Uzbekistan is one of the world’s largest cotton producers. But only about 20
to 25 per cent of the country’s cotton fibre output is currently processed
domestically. Developing the cotton processing industry is a government
priority.
The Bank’s partners in the deal are Gisad Tekstil Hammaddeleri Sanayi ve
Ticaret AS and its parent company, Gisad Dis Ticaret AS, the flagship company
of Gisad Group, one of Turkey’s leading textile exporters. The relatively low
cost of production in Uzbekistan, and the availability of good quality raw
material, will provide Gisad Group shareholders with fabric at competitive
prices as well as increasing Uzbekistan’s cotton-processing capacity.
“This is Gisad Group’s first step towards realising plans to establish textile
production bases in low-cost countries to help shareholders become more
competitive. It also gives Gisad Group an opportunity to establish a
partnership with the EBRD for future investments,” said Ibrahim Ozdogan,
Chairman of Gisad Foreign Trade.
The proceeds of the five-year loan will be used for start-up working capital
(covering 22 per cent of the total project cost). Hubert Pandza, EBRD Business
Group Director for Russia and Central Asia, said that the loan is consistent
with the Bank’s strategy for Uzbekistan, which stresses export-oriented
private-sector project finance as a core priority and highlights the
importance of the textile sector.
|
