After the IFC (International Finance Corporation), an institution of the World Bank Group working with the private sector, has signed a shareholding agreement with Rönesans Holding, one of the leading international contracting companies of Turkey, new investments in African, Middle East and Caucasian countries are on the agenda… As part of cooperation, the IFC will support the growth of Rönesans, which operates in 23 countries of the world, in international markets, especially in Africa.
The IFC has announced that it would invest 215 million US dollars in Rönesans Holding under the partnership agreement. The partnership aims to increase Rönesans Holding’s competitive power and contribute to its growth on a global basis. Within the context of partnership, it is envisaged that the Rönesans Holding companies will make new investments in African, Middle East and Caucasian countries and increase the sector’s competitive power in industrial infrastructure projects.
“WE ARE GETTING READY FOR THE BIDDING FOR A MAJOR ROAD PROJECT IN RWANDA”
Stating that the IFC is a long-term investor in Turkey, Dr. Erman Ilıcak says, “In particular, the developing countries do not have the resources to finance major projects, and thus they are constantly in need of the financing of export from another country. At this point, partnerships with powerful organizations such as the IFC are beneficial. We have experienced this closely in our own projects. The fact that the IFC is with us is also of great importance for our sector.”Ilıcak says that important projects in the African market are on the agenda with the IFC, adding, “A great many infrastructure projects will be initiated in Africa. The IFC plays an important role in terms of development of the countries there. It shares its accumulation of knowledge in order to ensure that we enter those markets. Our greatest goal is to go to Africa together. For example, we are preparing for the bidding for a major road project in Rwanda.”
LARGEST OFFICE OUTSIDE WASHINGTON IS LOCATED IN ISTANBUL
Dimitris Tsitsiragos, Vice President of Global Operations of the IFC, says that Turkey ranks the 2nd in countries they make investments throughout the world, adding, “Our portfolio in Turkey amounts to a total of 4.8 billion US dollars. In the world, our largest office outside Washington is located in Istanbul. More than 50 countries, including Eastern Europe, Middle East, Turkey, Russia and Pakistan, are purchasing services from Istanbul.”Stating that there are prioritized investment areas in Turkey, Tsitsiragos lists them as follows: To support the infrastructure investments, to increase competitiveness of the private sector, to support the investments to be made by Turkish companies in the region, to facilitate the SMEs’ access to finance, the climate change and energy efficiency projects, health and IT investments.
Tsitsiragos says that the cooperation with Rönesans focuses on these prioritized areas, adding, “Rönesans is a very large company in fields of construction, real estate development, infrastructure investment and engineering. Previously, we have supported Rönesans’ projects in Central Asia. We have cooperated in Adana as the public-private partnership (PPP) in health sector in Turkey over the past few years.
Now we are aiming to support the growth of Rönesans in regions that the IFC knows very well and sees a potential. Africa is at the forefront of these regions. Rönesans will bring together its accumulation of knowledge, experience and man power with the infrastructure needs in these regions and will do good work.”