- PLN 500 million loan to Polish chemicals giant Grupa Azoty
- Funds will finance green and R&D investments
- Company aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve efficiency and introduce new products
Continuing its support for green investments and in a foray into new technology, the EBRD is extending a PLN 500 million (€116 million equivalent) long-term senior loan to Poland’s Grupa Azoty, a leading producer of chemicals on the Polish and European market, to help green their operations.
The funds will finance investments in a significant reduction of CO2 emissions at the company’s plants, as well as efficiency improvements and an expansion of R&D activities towards higher value products. The green investment programme financed with the EBRD loan is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 130,000 tonnes of CO2e each year. The EBRD loan will be part of a massive investment programme, for which an additional PLN 1.5 billion (€350 million equivalent) and €145 million were raised from other lenders earlier this year.
Grupa Azoty is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately PLN 4.6 billion. The main shareholders are the Polish State Treasury (33 per cent), the fertiliser group Acron (19.47 per cent) and various investment and pension funds. The EBRD has a stake of 2.87 per cent and provided the Group with a PLN 150 million loan in 2015.
Grupa Azoty was formed in an effort to consolidate the Polish chemical industry at the beginning of this decade. Today it is Poland’s largest chemical company and the European Union’s second-largest producer of fertilisers. Their other products such as melamine, caprolactam, polyamide, OXO alcohols and titanium dioxide also enjoy a strong position in the chemical sector and find application in other industries.
With 10 company sites in Poland and 14,000 employees, the company is one of strategic importance to the Polish economy.
The EBRD started working in Poland in 1991 and to date has invested €8.9 billion in 402 projects. The Bank’s new country strategy for Poland identifies enhancing competitiveness through innovation, promoting the green economy and strengthening resilience as the key priorities.