BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/11/2006

IFC invests $40 mln in Belarussian juice plant, discounter chain

MINSK. Nov 8 (Interfax) - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, is investing $40 million in a juice plant that is being set up by Detroit Investments in Belarus and a chain of discount stores, the IFC representative office in Belarus said in a press release.

The IFC has offered a $35.5 million loan and invested $4.5 million in the Belarussian subsidiary structure of Detroit Investments, the release says.

A part of the funds will be spent on the creation of the country's first private juice plant. As part of the project, Detroit Investments is privatizing the Bobruisk Canning Plant in Belarus' Mogilev region, which is currently not operating, and upgrading it to set up modern juice production.

"The company sees great potential for the development of local juice production on the Belarussian market, where imported juices are currently dominating. Detroit Investments intends to supply its products to the local market and further begin exporting them," the release says.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/211077/news.aspx