Announcement of IFC Lends Two Million Fifteen Thousand US Dollars for Turkish Moped Project on October 12, 1978

International Finance Corporation 1818 H Street, N.W. • - - - - .,_ . . . . . ,...,_~ IFC Press Release No. 79/10 - ~~ - ~ ' ' ? ~,, - .. -· ....... ~ - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - ~ ... Washington. D.C. 20433, U.S.A. 202-393-6360 _. • p Thursday, October 12, 1978 IFC Lends $2.15 Million For Turkish Moped Project The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, will help finance a $7.69 million motorized bicycle (moped) engine project in Turkey -- assisting the integration of this industry in Turkey, adding value to local production, saving foreign exchange and helping improve transportation in rural areas. IFC is lending $2.15 million to Ege Mosan Motorlu Araclar Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. The Company was established to produce locally moped engines and their main components for a subsidiary, Bisiklet Sanayi A.S., a leading Turkish bicycle • manufacturer and moped assembler. near Izmir, in one of the lesser industrialized areas of Turkey. Ege Mosan will establish a plant at Kempalpaza, The plant will have the capacity to produce 50,000, 1.5 horsepower, 50cc, two-stroke moped engines a year under a license and with technical assistance from Peugeot of France. Ege Mosan is the first such company to be license by Peugeot for local engine manufacture. In addition to IFC's loan, the financial plan consists of a $2.15 million loan from Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi A.S., a leading Turkish development finance company which has received both IFC and World Bank financing in the past; share capital of $1.75 million from some 400 Turkish small businessmen and moped dealers throughout Turkey; and $1.64 million from internal Company sources. The project will benefit the Turkish economy by providing convenient, low- cost, low-fuel consumption transportation to farmers and small businesses in largely agricultural areas; by increasing the local content of mopeds; and by adding value to th~ir production. Up to now the engine and its main components have been imported. The project~s output will substitute for these requirements •  - 2 - and, at full capacity, will result in estimated net foreign exchange benefits of $3 million annually. • The original enterprise, a bicycle factory, was founded fifteen years ago by three Turkish businessmen. Over the years it has increased bicycle production, expanded into moped assembly and gained a substantial share of both markets in the country. In anticipation of the present project, the Company's capital was increased and the ownership broadened to include a number of businessmen and dealers of mopeds and durable goods from various regions in Turkey. • (Amy inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation in this project should be directed to the IFC Information Office, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, Telephone (202) 477-5340.) •