|
EBRD supports Lithuanian retailer with EUR35 million loan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is extending a €35 million loan to the Lithuanian retailer VP Market. With a turnover of €650 million in 2002, VP Market is the largest company in Lithuania in terms of domestic sales and one of the leading retailers in the Baltic states.
The loan will allow VP Market to complete the expansion and development of its logistics and food retail network in Lithuania, said Salvatore Candido, EBRD Director for the Baltic states. He pointed out the significance of the agreement in light of Lithuania’s forthcoming accession to the European Union, which will exert increased pressure on local companies to maintain and improve their competitiveness.
Ignas Staškeviius, General Manager of VP Market, said: „This agreement is important for us not only financially, but also as recognition of our standing in the market place. The loan from a bank like the EBRD shows the transparency, stability and reliability of our company’s activities”.
Hans Christian Jacobsen, EBRD Director of Agribusiness, said the project is important because it broadens the Bank’s presence in the retail sector and should lead to further projects in the sector across the region with such progressive local companies as VP Market.
The Lithuanian food retail market has in recent years experienced a transformation from individual shops and kiosks to a market characterised by organised retail development. The principal drivers have been recent strong GDP growth, changing consumer tastes towards higher quality products, better customer service and convenience, and interest in the food retail sector from large western companies and local entrepreneurs. Future market trends are likely to be shaped by continued intense competition. Average sales will be supported by increasing consumer spending and higher prices as the Lithuanian economy convergences with the rest of EU.
The EBRD has concluded 201 transactions with an aggregate value of more than €3 billion in the agribusiness sector in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
|
