The loan from EBRD will be used to fulfil Nibulon’s working capital needs such as procuring agricultural commodities
EBRD offers $27m loan to Ukraine grain trader Nibulon. (Credit: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed to provide a loan of $27m to Nibulon Group, a grain trader in Ukraine.
The $27m loan will be used by Nibulon to address its working capital needs in the procurement of agricultural commodities, processing, storage, transportation and their sale for export.
Being one of the largest grain exporters in Ukraine, Nibulon is an old client of EBRD. In 2018, the financial institution provided a loan of $50m to increase gain exports by strengthening logistics and by developing supportive infrastructure.
The package is part of EBRD Solidarity Package
The present financing is part of the EBRD Solidarity Package, which will ensure the continuity of key businesses and services threatened by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bank aims to dedicate its total business investment of up to €21bn ($24.7bn) for the period of 2020-21 to combat the effects of the pandemic crisis.
The loan for Nibulon is supported by a grant from Japan-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.
Last month, the company had inaugurated its River Transshipment Terminal along the Dnipro River at Marianske village (Apostolove district, Dnipropetrovsk region).
The company invested in the terminal was part of a large-scale investment programme since 2009. As part of the programme, Nibulon is reviving the shipbuilding sector, developing navigation across the Ukrainian inland waterways along with a network of transhipment terminals within the country.
The new facility can store up to 76,000 tons of agricultural commodities and ship 12,000 tons of grain by water transport. It can also receive nearly 300,000 tons of grains annually, thereby taking away over 12,500 trucks from the highways.
EBRD along with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) had supported the company in the terminal’s development.