Announcement of IFC Supports Turkish Industry Lends One Million Thirty Thousand US Dollars for Textile Mill on October 7, 1974

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION . 1 8 H STREET. N.W .. WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUilVE 3-6360 IFC Press Release No. 74/23 Monday, October 7, 1974 IFC orts Turkish Industr Lends Million for Textile Mill The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is lending $1.3 million to Kartaltepe Mensucat Fabrikasi T.A.S. to help finance a $19 million integrated textile plant in Turkey. The new mill will be located at Edirne. It will have a yarn capacity of about 2,400 metric tons per year, weaving capacity of about 10.6 million meters, and finish- ing, dyeing and printing capacity of about 15 to 20 million meters. The project will double the size of Kartaltepe -- a privately-held company which presently operates a textile mill in Istanbul -- and make it one of the larger textile firms in Turkey. • Background The project was proposed to IFC by Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi A.S., a devel- opment finance institution which has received both IFC and World Bank financing in the past. Financing Loans are being provided by Is Bankasi, $4.3 million; Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, $3.8 million; Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi, $2.4 million, relending funds provided to it by the European Investment Bank; other local banks, $1.9 million; and IFC. Equity includes a $1.8 million share offering to stockholders and $3.5 million from internal sources. Economic Effects The new mill is located in one of the lesser developed areas of Turkey and away from industrialized urban areas. It is expected to begin production in the latter part of 1975 and will employ approximately 600 workers. The mill will enable Kartaltepe to achieve economies of scale in line with the Turkish Government's efforts to encourage modernization and improve the competitive- ness of the textile sector. Raw materials will be procured from local sources. The company's products are intended primarily for domestic markets ·where demand exceeds • existing capacity.