Washington,
DC: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the
private sector lending arm of the World Bank group (),
will provide financing to Apollo Tyres, one of Indias
leading manufacturer of automotive tires. Apollo is a
market leader in the truck and bus replacement tire market,
the largest segment of the tire market by value in India.
IFC
()
is providing a US $35-million loan to Apollo, of which
$20 million is for IFCs own account and the remaining
$15 million for the account of participating banks. This
financing will support the companys $51-million
investment plan over the next two years to help establish
a truck radial tire manufacturing facility at Vadodara
in Gujarat and debottleneck and balance operations to
increase capacity utilisation at its Perambra and Kalamassery
plants, near Kochi in Kerala. This project will help Apollo
introduce the next generation of tires for trucks and
buses in India, which would eventually lead to a safer
and more fuel-efficient road transport.
Says
Apollo Tyres chairman Onkar Singh Kanwar: We at
Apollo Tyres are proud to be the first Indian tyre manufacturer
to receive IFCs direct support. This is a testament
to our pioneering efforts in introducing state-of-the-art
radial technology in the truck tyre segment. With this
long-term partnership with IFC, we hope to further our
existing international standards in corporate governance,
best environment practices and corporate social responsibility.
Says
IFC director for South Asia Dimitris Tsitsiragos: We
appreciate Apollos leadership position in the Indian
tyre market and support their initiative to provide better
quality products to customers. IFC has worked with Apollo
Tyres to help them benchmark against global best practices
in corporate governance, social and environmental responsibility.
This project demonstrates our commitment to support Indian
companies that are upgrading technology and modernising
to become internationally competitive.
The
mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector
investment in developing countries, helping to reduce
poverty and improve peoples lives. IFC finances
private sector investments in the developing world, mobilises
capital in the international financial markets, and provides
technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.
Since
its founding in 1956 through FY 2002, IFC has committed
more than $34 billion of its own funds and arranged $21
billion in syndications for 2,825 companies in 140 developing
countries. IFCs worldwide committed portfolio as
of FY02 was $15.1 billion for its own account and $6.5
billion held for participants in loan syndications.
also see : www.worldbank.org www.ifc.org
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