Bangladeshi food processor Pran will borrow $13 million from two international financial organisations -- Proparco and FMO.
The funds will be used to upgrade the packaging system and introduce
cutting-edge technology in the juice and beverage sections of a factory
of Mymensingh Agro Ltd, a concern of Pran.
Proparco, the private sector financing arm of Agence Française de
Développement, will provide $8 million, while FMO, a Dutch development
bank, will give the rest, Pran said in a statement yesterday.
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, deputy managing director at Pran-RFL Group;
Sebastien Fleury, regional representative for South Asia at Proparco;
and Marjolein Landheer, head of agribusiness department at FMO, signed
agreements in this regard at Radisson Blu hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Uzma Chowdhury, director for corporate finance at Pran-RFL Group, and
Deanne Arends, investment officer at FMO, were also present.
“We will purchase equipment for our juice and beverage units.
Efficient machinery is essential to manufacture quality products,” Ahsan
Khan said.
“The loans will also help the company become more efficient and competitive in domestic and foreign markets.”