Tropical Rubber

completed

SUMMARY OF PROJECT INFORMATION (SPI)Project name Côte d’Ivoire-TRCIRegion Sub-Saharan AfricaSector AgribusinessProject number: 008161Projected Board Date: June 23, 1997Company Name: Tropical Rubber Côte d’IvoireMajor Shareholders: (i) Saphic (48%) from Côte d’Ivoire, a limited liability company incorporated in 1993 whose major shareholders are medium scale rubber planters from the Anguédedou area; (ii) GMG Investment (Pte) Ltd. (32%), a subsidiary of the Panwell Group, an Indonesian conglomerate with interests in manufacturing, banking, trading, etc., (iii) the Government of Côte d’Ivoire (20%).Technical Partner: The Panwell Group, through its subsidiaries, has full responsibility to manage TRCI. Panwell has been involved in rubber production and marketing for several years. It recently acquired Hevecam, the largest rubber company in Cameroon.Project Cost: Total project cost have been estimated at US$12.1 million, including physical contingency and initial working capital. IFC has been requested to grant a senior loan of up to US$3.5 million.Location of Project: TRCI’s plantations and processing plant are located at Anguédedou, some 26 km west of Abidjan.Project Description: TRCI acquired in 1995 the Anguédedou estate developed by the Ivorian Government more than 30 years ago. The project includes the rehabilitation of some 1,000 ha of old plantations and the construction of a new rubber processing plant with a capacity of 80 tons per day. The project is expected to have significant development impact by providing employment, earning foreign exchange, offering a processing facility and extension services to rubber smallhold plantations in the Anguédedou area, and playing a key social role as it manages a school and a dispensary for its staff. IFC’s involvement is critical as the local financial system could not provide loans with terms of more than 5 years needed by rubber projects.Environmental Impact:. This is a category B project according to IFC’s environmental procedures because specific impacts which may result from TRCI’s activities can be avoided or significantly mitigated by adhering to well established production and management guidelines. Environmental issues associated with this project include land use, liquid effluents, hazardous and solid wastes and pesticide handling and application. Only small quantities of biodegradable chemicals are used by TRCI. They include fertilizers such as rock phosphate, weedkillers and formic acid. Strict procedures are applied in handling chemicals including the utilization of protective clothing and equipment. Water from the processing plant passes through traps and sieves and is treated in several ponds before being discharged in the Anguédedou river. The Company has committed itself to complying with all applicable local and World Bank policies and guidelines and will provide annual environmental reports to IFC. The Environmental Assessment Report is available at the Public Information Center (PIC).Date of Sending SPI to PIC: May 23, 1997For additional Information, please contact the Corporate Relations Unit at:telephone: (202) 473 7711fax: (202) 676 0365 PMEnvironmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).