Announcement of IFC Investment in Enka de Colombia, S.A., Colombia on September 11, 1969

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, t) .. t INTERNATIONAL FLNANCE co·RPORATION \1 ·~ 1818 H STREET. N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 ii IFC News Release No. 69/16 Subject: IFC Investment in Enka de September 11, 1969 Colombia, S.A., \polombia The International Finance Corporation, an affiliate of the World Banlt~ ~·ill help finance a 70 per cent expansion in the productive capacity of Colombia's··· largest and most diversified synthetic fiber producer, Enka, de Colombia, S.A. The approximately $1.8 million IFC commitment to the $10.2 million equivalent 'I ,'\ ~ ,~' . expansion is the Corporatjon's secoud investment in Enki and IFC's thirty-first investment in Colombian enterprises. In 1966 IFC made an investment of $923,988 to assist in financing Enka's present facilities. That project was completed in 1967 and Enka now produces and sells at full capacity • • IFC' s 31 investlnents in Colombia have been in 16 Colombian J~rivate enterprises, including development finance companies, can-making, electrical equipment, food, home furnishings, livestock, textiles, tourism, warehousing and wood products. In addition to IFC, the World Bank affiliate that finances private enterprise projects in developing countries, funds for the Enka expansion project will be provided by Colombian and foreign shareholders, European suppliers and cash generation. The Colombian shareholders include five textile firms and Corporacion Financiera Nacional, in Medellin, and Corporacion Financiera de Caldas, in Manizales, two development finance companies in which IFC has invested. The foreign shareholders are companies of the Algemene Kunstzijde Unie (AKU) Group. This Group is one of the world's leading synthetic fiber producers, headquartered • in the Netherlands • (more) • - 2 - Enka is the only nylon tire yarn and nylon tire fabric producer in Colombia. In addition, it makes nylon textile yarn and polyester textile yarn ~mt staple. \\ ,:<( The Enka. plant is located at Girardota, near Medellin. The company employs 625, all but five of whom are Colombian. The expanded plant Will require an additional 230 workers. AKU originally provided a technical, commercial and financial management team for Enka, nearly all of whom have been replaced by trfining Colombians to fill the positions. Financing for the new expansion project consists of: Equity -- Shareholders other than IFC, $2,405,000 equivalent; I~C, $655,276 equivalent; cash generation, $3,177,000 equivalent. 12!!! -- Suppliers' credits from Germany and the Netherlands, ~~3 million \' • equivalent; IFC, $1 million. The shareholders have also agreed to supply approximately $690,000 equivalent equity, on a contingency basis, of which IFC's share is approximately $106,000 • •