Overseas Private
Investment Corporation
Press Release
Tuesday,
December 5, 2006
U.S. SMALL BUSINESS USES OPIC LOAN TO BUILD COLD STORAGE
FACILITY IN REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – A U.S. small business will use a $3.9 million loan from the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to construct a cold storage facility in a
commercially strategic port in the Republic of Georgia, supporting trade with
Caucasus and Central Asian countries and helping the country to overcome an
obstacle to the development of its agricultural sector.
The
OPIC financing will enable American Monolith, a Georgian company partially
owned by Southeastern
Export Corporation, a U.S. company based in the state of Georgia, to
construct and operate a 7200-square-meter cold storage facility near the port
of Poti, Georgia, in order to expand its existing frozen food distribution
business in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Poti was selected because it
provided the shortest route through Georgia to those markets.
The
facility will be used to store and distribute frozen cargos such as poultry
products, primarily from the United States, to the markets of Georgia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and further to the countries of Central Asia, including
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. The project is expected to create 19
local permanent jobs.
Design
and construction of the facility will also be supported by technical assistance
from another U.S. company, Richmond Cold Storage.
OPIC
President and CEO Robert Mosbacher, Jr. said shortage of cold storage space in
Poti had inhibited the growth of Georgia’s agricultural exports to the Caspian
and Central Asian markets, making handling of bulk shipments to those regions
costly and inefficient.
“By
helping the Republic of Georgia to overcome a lack of capacity in one of its
most important industries, this project will support the growth of its
agricutural sector, thanks in large part to the transfer of technology from a
U.S. small business,” Mosbacher said. “OPIC is pleased to support a project
with so many developmental benefits for the Republic of Georgia.”
OPIC
was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S.
businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging
markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with
foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC
charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining
basis at no net cost to taxpayers.
OPIC’s
political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest
in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the
agency’s 35-year history, OPIC has supported $164 billion worth of investments
that have helped developing countries to generate more than 732,000
host-country jobs and $13 billion in host-government revenues. OPIC projects
have also generated $69 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 264,000
American jobs.
Source: OPIC web site, www.opic.gov