Announcement of Increase in IFC's Investment in Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited, India on February 25, 1970

HOLD FOR RELEASE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IFC News Release No. 70/6 SUBJECT: Increase in IFC's Investment For Publication in Uor~1ing Newspapers in Zuari Agro Chemicals of Wednesday, February 25, 1970 Limited, India IFC INCREASES ITS COHHITHENT TO INDIAN FERTILIZER PROJECT The International Finance Corporation, of the World Bank Group;) announced today it is raising its commitment to a $75.4 million fertilizer project at Goa, in southwest India by $3 million, to $18.94 million. The project, Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited, is sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation 11 of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Birla Group, one of the largest industrial groups in India. }Iore thar_ half of the company's share capita~ • will be held by Indians . A Japanese company, Toyo Engineering Corporation, has contracted to build Zuari's ammonia and urea plants, and related facilitieso One Japanese and two United States private financial institutions are tak:f.ug up $3.95 million of the IFC commitment. Participants are T-he l\·~itsui Bank Ltd., of Japan; the First National City Bank of New York; and Vantage Ten Ninety Fund, of Washington~ D.C. Zuari Agro Chemicals will have an ammonia capacity of 220,000 metric tons a year, part of which will be used directly in the production of 340,000 metric tons C a year of prilled urea. The remainder of the ammonia will be used together with urea and phosphoric acid to produce 150,000 metric tons a year of granulated compound fertilizer. Last }.iarch,IFC conunitted $15.94 million to the project, as part of a ,. financing group that included the Birla Group of industries in India, the United (more)  IFC News Release ~o. 70/6 --India - 2 - States Steel Corporation, a group of United States institutional investors heade~ by the Bank of America, New York; the United States Agency for International Development (AID}; and Armour and Company, of Chicago • Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited is the second fertilizer project in India to be assisted by IFC. In 1967, the Corporation helped to finance an $82.5 million u.rea fertilizer complex built by Indian Explosives Limited in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. This plant began commercial production in December 1969. Including its new connnitment to the Zuari project~ IFC commitments to 11 pd:vately otmed Indian companies total $42. 3 million. These enterprises had project costs amounting to over $210 million. • fl II •