The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and ADA-Group JSC have signed a credit agreement to the sum of $18 mln, Trend reports.
6 million USD out of these funds are considered on the participation in the capital of the Company, the other $12 mln, to the development.
Shahbaz Mavaddat, the Director of IFC for Central Asia and Eastern Europe, said during the signing that the project would render direct and indirect assistance to the opening new jobs and diversification of market.
The key aim of the IFC participation is the assistance in the following two directions: applying the international experience on corporative management, insurance, introduction of standards of environment quality. The second aim - capital investments will enable application of the advanced experience in the realization of foodstuffs, he said.
According to him, IFC investments to the capital of ADA-Group will allow acquiring 19% of the shares. According to Sergey Ivashkevitch, the Chairman of the Board of ADA-Group, the Company was established by a group of Azerbaijan and Russian entrepreneurs in 2005.
The idea on establishing a network of supermarkets in Azerbaijan emerged due to research conducted. The other favorable conditions to it were the 40% increase of GDP, incomes of the population, economic reforms carried out to improve the private sector and investment encouragement, he said.
According to the agreement, the team of stockholders of ADA-Group cannot be changed without the IFC consent within 8 years. The total cost of the ADA Project, which envisages establishing a network of supermarkets branded Almali reaches $50 mln. The Company hopes to open at least 50 supermarkets till the end of 2007. Up to date, the Company opened 15 supermarkets with the above-mentioned brand in Baku and Sumgayit.
