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Turkish delight: $13.15m for food deals
EBRD loan helps Turkey’s Ulker Group expand in Kazakhstan and Romania
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending $13.15 million
to subsidiaries of the Ulker Group of Turkey to expand production of food
products in Romania and Kazakhstan.
One loan of $8.9 million goes to Eurex Alimentare of Romania to support
Ulker’s expansion into the Romanian market by financing a new factory to
produce already popular Ulker-branded biscuits, chocolate, bouillon and
margarine products. A second loan of $4.25 million to Hamle of Kazakhstan will
be used to modernize and expand existing facilities to produce a more
diversified range in biscuits and chocolates.
Ulker is the largest food group in Turkey and one of the country’s most
recognized brands. Its annual revenues are around $4 billion.
Noreen Doyle, First Vice President of the EBRD, noted that the two projects
would support the modernisation and long term competitiveness of the food
production sectors in both Kazakhstan and Romania. Ersin Topcuoglu, General
Manager of Yildiz Holding, the holding company of the Ulker Group, added that
the deal is an important part of Ulker’s presence in Eastern Europe and
Central Asia, which it considers markets with great potential and importance.
The EBRD is the largest investor in the agribusiness sector across its 27
countries of operations, with 219 investments for a total commitment value of
€3.25 billion.
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