Announcement of IFC to Finance New Petrochemicals Plant in Mexico April 11, 1989

April 28, 1989 Kirby Jones Press Release No. 89/45 (202) 473-7700 IFC INVESTS SWF 15.0 MILLION TO INTRODUCE MODERN PACKAGING IN HUNGARY The first modern packaging materials project in Hungary will receive a SwF 15.0 million loan and equity investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The SwF 75.0 million project, Tetrapak Hungary Limited, will be built by a Swiss-Hungarian joint venture company. IFC, an affiliate of the World Bank, is the largest multilateral source of financing for private sector projects in developing countries and the largest foreign equity investor in Hungary. IFC is providing an equity investment of SwF 4.5 million and a loan of SwF 10.5 million to the joint venture. Shareholders in the project are Tetra Pak Rausing Ltd. from Switzerland, the world leader in asceptic packaging technology (60%); Orszagos Takarekpenztar (OTP), a Hungarian financial institution (25%); and IFC (15%). The project involves the construction of a modern packaging materials plant with a nominal capacity of 500 million laminated cartons (one litre equivalent) per year. The packaging materials will serve the Hungarian milk and fruit juice industry more effectively and at a cost lower than that of existing competing products. Local availability of laminated cartons should also help improve Hungary's trade balance through indirect savings of imports and additional exports of food products. Tetra Pak Rausing Ltd. will provide the know-how and engineering assistance to the new joint venture company, will introduce modern management systems in the company, and will be responsible for technical and management training of the staff. -2- The Hungarian economy is undergoing important structural reforms which are facilitating the establishment of new market oriented businesses in Hungary. The development of a domestic packaging industry is an important element of Hungary's agricultural development strategy and has been receiving a high priority from the Government of Hungary. The project will establish the first large scale organized packaging business in Hungary. Hungary joined IFC in April 1985. Since then, IFC has approved loans totalling US$56 million and equity investments totalling US$11 million, in five joint ventures with a total investment cost of US$200 million. - End -