ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 16. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided Kazakh salt producer Araltuz with a convertible loan of up to 5.5 billion tenge (11 million euros), Trend reports.
Thus, the Bank encourages the growth of the top Kazakh manufacturer in Central Asia of low-grade technical salt and table salt.
The funds will be provided to the joint stock company Salt Industry Ltd., operating under the jurisdiction of the Astana International Financial Center, and the Araltuz holding company. They will contribute to the company’s investment program and support the construction of new manufacturing facilities to launch the domestic production of vacuum salt (also known as evaporated or culinary salt).
Furthermore, the EBRD financing will assist Araltuz in growing its operations in China, the Middle East, and Europe as well as in diversifying its export structure.
Araltuz is putting a corporate governance action plan into practice as part of the project and with EBRD support.
Meanwhile, the bank has invested about 9.8 billion euros in 317 projects in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is the EBRD's largest and longest-running Central Asian banking business.