IFC’s Financing to Fertilizer Company Supports Cleaner Production in China, Benefits Millions of Farmers

Beijing, China - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $7 million in China’s Ko Yo Ecological Agrotech (Group) Limited to help the fertilizer manufacturer adopt cleaner-production methods while supporting agriculture in China’s underdeveloped western region, benefitting 4.5 million farmers.

IFC’s equity investment will allow Ko Yo Group to increase capacity at its Dazhou urea-manufacturing plant to up to 750,000 tons per year and to install a melamine-production unit of 40,000 tons per year. Increased urea production will help consume the plant’s excess ammonia and its by-product carbon dioxide during the manufacturing process. This is expected to reduce the plant’s carbon-dioxide emissions by 216,000 tons per year and improve energy efficiency by 7 percent.

“IFC is a long-term partner and has continuously supported us in adopting the best environmental and social standards and better corporate-governance practices since its first investment in our company,” said Li Weiruo, Chairman of Ko Yo Group.

As part of the Sichuan Earthquake Recovery Program, IFC provided the company a $20 million loan and invested $10 million in equity in 2009 to increase fertilizer production and help farmers in one of China’s main farming regions recover faster from the devastating earthquake in 2008. IFC’s total investment in Ko Yo benefits 7.5 million farmers in the region.

The agriculture sector contributed about 16 percent to Sichuan’s gross domestic product as of 2009, and increased fertilizer availability is critical to the region’s development.

“IFC is committed to continuing to support Ko Yo Group to be competitive and to adopt best practices to protect the environment,” said Hyun-Chan Cho, IFC Country Manager for China and Mongolia. “This is part of IFC’s strategy to promote rural development, especially in frontier regions, and address climate change in China.”

For more information about Ko Yo Group, visit www.koyochem.com.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

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