MONGOLIA – MCS Coca-Cola, Mongolia’s largest producer of soft drinks, is set for further growth following a new capital injection by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
According to a statement from EBRD, the fresh funds will help the Mongolian soft drinks bottler to complete its long-term investment program.
“A senior loan of up to US$ 15 million to MCS Coca-Cola will help to finalise the construction of a new PET bottling plant,” EBRD said.
The funds will be used to install a modern and resource-efficient bottling line and to build an energy-efficient warehouse.
Both the bottling line and the warehouse will comply with international occupational health and safety, food safety, and environmental standards.
In addition, the new bottling line and warehouse will improve MCS Coca Cola’s distribution of food and beverages in rural areas and increase their shelf life.
EBRD loan boost Mongolia’s economy
To date, the EBRD has invested more than US$ 1.87 billion in Mongolia’s economy through 117 projects.
Earlier in September, EBRD and local lender XacBank supported the expansion of the country’s oldest and leading dairy company, Suu Milk.
In a joint transaction, XacBank will be providing a local currency loan equivalent to US$4.8m to Suu Milk, with 65% of the risk on the loan being assumed by the EBRD under a risk-sharing facility signed between the two financial institutions.
The funds will be used to finance the expansion of production capacity and the renewal of Suu Milk’s transport fleet, including the acquisition of new delivery trucks to serve more than 2,500 nomadic herders across Mongolia.
Also, new ice cream, dairy production, and packaging equipment will widen its range of products, extend shelf life and raise food-safety standards.
In October, the European development bank celebrated 15 years of operations in Mongolia.
During its stay in Mongolia, EBRD has been sponsoring banks and other financial entities—such as XacBank, Khanbank and Transcapital—that became involved in its Trade Facilitation Programme.
By now, the EBRD has a presence in many sectors of the country’s economy and has sponsored around 190,000 loans, totaling more than US$535mn.
In all, the UK-based international financial institution has invested a total of US$2.1bn in Mongolia during the 15 years.
For the foreseeable future, the EBRD’s goal in the country of 3.4mn (nominal GDP around $14bn) is to invest more in infrastructure and projects to deliver a greener economy.
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