EBRD, Turkish development bank to back Turkish flour producer

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) will jointly provide 6 million euros ($6.3 million) of financing to a major Turkish flour producer, the EBRD said Feb. 20.        

“In their first joint transaction, the EBRD and TSKB are providing 6 million euros of working capital financing to Ulusoy Un, a flour miller and grain trader based in Samsun, a city in the Black Sea region of Turkey,” the EBRD said in a statement.

The EBRD said the financing took place under a joint program between the EBRD and TSKB set up in 2016 to improve and simplify access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Turkey.        

The two lenders will equally provide the financing for purchasing, storing and selling agro-commodities, according to the statement.    
    
Ulusoy Un has been producing and selling flour used for the production of bread, biscuits, chapattis and noodles for nearly 30 years with exports to 72 countries.

“This funding will help make the company more competitive on the Turkish market and abroad,” the bank said, underlining the importance of competitiveness as one of the six transition qualities of the EBRD.        

Günhan Ulusoy, the chairman of Ulusoy Un, stated that the agreement showed confidence in Turkey, its flour industry and his company.   
     
“I am confident that our cooperation will go from strength to strength in the coming years,” he added.        

TSKB CEO Suat İnce said they were pleased to finance Ulusoy Un. 

“TSKB will continue to develop solutions for the real sector and support value-adding investments,” he said.         
EBRD Managing Director for Turkey Jean-Patrick Marquet stressed TSKB’s deep local knowledge and network. 

“We are pleased to partner with TSKB as we work toward our joint goal of boosting the development of successful SMEs and small mid-cap companies such as Ulusoy Un,” he said. 
        
In mid-January, the EBRD announced it invested more than 8.57 billion euros ($9.15 billion) in 207 Turkish projects over the past eight years.