Latest round of EBRD funding sees local juice producer Vitafit receive 6.5 million USD

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) continues its investment into the Mongolian private sector with a new loan of 6.5 million USD to the beverage producer and distributor Vitafit Group. The loan will partially finance an equipment modernization program aimed at improving the quality of the group’s products and increase its production capacity.

The proceeds of the loan will be used to purchase an aseptic filling line for fruit juice and fresh milk bottling to replace existing old equipment and eliminate capacity bottlenecks. This will allow the company to expand its product range and offer new products of higher standards to Mongolian consumers.

Vitafit Group is one of the leading producers and distributors of non-alcoholic beverages including fruit juices, juice drinks, bottled water and iced teas in Mongolia. Vitafit was established in 1997 and started its activities with production and distribution of glass bottled soft-drinks for the Ulaanbaatar market. Vitafit was the one of the EBRD’s first clients in Mongolia and this latest loan is the fourth deal between the EBRD and the group since 2007.

“The EBRD is delighted to make its fourth loan to the Vitafit Group, as promoting private sector development and supporting entrepreneurial initiative is key to the bank's role in Mongolia. This deal will bring new technology and help to improve standards for this key player in the local non-alcoholic beverages market. This new investment reaffirms the EBRD’s commitment to Mongolia’s private sector,” said Philip ter Woort, head of the EBRD’s Resident Office in Mongolia.

The EBRD’s loan is provided through the bank’s Early Transition Countries Initiative of which Mongolia is a member. Mongolia became an EBRD country of operations in October 2006 and since the beginning of its operations in Mongolia, the EBRD has committed through debt and equity investments more than 465 million USD to the Mongolian private sector through 41 projects in sectors ranging from banking to manufacturing and from mining to agribusiness.

The bank has intensified lending since the approval of its new country strategy for Mongolia in June 2017.

“The new strategy is an important achievement in the history of our engagement in the country and sets out our strategic priorities for the next four years. The strategy was closely coordinated with the government and it will allow us to make a meaningful contribution towards building a more resilient, diversified and competitive economy through progress in reform, diversification and sustainability,” Irina Kravchenko, EBRD Head of Mongolia, said at the time.