IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $35.5 million loan to Elif Plastik, Turkey's largest supplier of flexible plastic packaging, helping the company expand into Egypt, creating jobs, improving local know-how, and bolstering supply chains. The investment will help the company, which makes flexible plastic packaging for consumer goods like food, cleaning materials, and personal hygiene products, build a modern factory in Egypt. Some $15.5 million of the loan will go toward the plant, Elif Plastik's first international expansion, while $20 million will help fund the company's operations. The new plant will be able to produce 15,000 tons of flexible plastic packaging annually. "We plan to expand into Egypt and other countries in the Middle East, and make the new plant a hub for Elif Plastik's operations in the region," said Selcuk Yarangümelioğlu, Managing Director of Elif Plastik. "We look forward to developing a long-term partnership with IFC to further expand in the region and increase our company's competitiveness." The investment is part of a wider IFC effort to encourage economic development in Egypt by supporting the country's private sector and to support leading regional companies as they expand into Egypt, helping to create jobs and to strengthen the country's economic integration with Europe, and the rest of the Middle East and North Africa. "This investment fits with our strategy of boosting confidence in Egypt's private sector, a major contributor to employment," said Nada Shousha, IFC Country Manager for Egypt. "At the same time we are helping a Turkish company expand in the region, promoting cross-border investment between developing economies." During fiscal year 2013, IFC committed $276 million in Egypt across five projects. That brought IFC's total commitments since 2011 close to $1 billion, including $303 million mobilized from other investors. IFC has been investing in Turkey's private sector for nearly 50 years. In fiscal year 2013, IFC delivered a record $985 million in 20 projects, supporting smaller businesses, renewable energy projects, energy efficiency, energy security, healthcare, education, infrastructure development, and cross-border trade.
