The project sponsor is Schwarz Group, a privately held retail chain based in Germany and operating in different countries in Europe under the Lidl and Kaufland brands. The Project companies are Kaufland Romania S.C.S. and Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, which are wholly owned by Schwarz Group.                                               

Total project cost to be incurred in the 2022 financial year is estimated at over €600 million. The proposed IFC investment is an up to €175 million A loan for IFC’s own account to partially finance the Project.

Investments under the Project are planned to be made in different cities of Romania, Moldova and the Target Balkan Countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

This is category B project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. Key E&S aspects for this new investment are essentially the same as those identified under previous projects and comprise company’s commitment to sustainable development and its capacity to assess and manage E&S aspects, including: compliance with corporate standards and national environmental and social laws; management of impacts during construction (particularly protecting the occupational health and safety of those engaged in building the stores); life safety of visitors and personnel during emergency situations; protection of employees’ working rights; ongoing monitoring of the primary supply chain resource efficiency and waste minimization; and stakeholders engagement.

These issues may all be readily mitigated and are relatively minor and reversible.