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