Sarten is directly (68%) or through Kinali Ambalaj (32%) owned by the members of Saribekir family, namely Mr. Zeki Saribekir, 41.6%, Mr. Yusuf Saribekir, 19.7%, Ms. Zeren Saribekir, 19.4%, and Ms. Zeynep Oguz, 19.4%. Sarten is the main business of the Saribekir family. The family’s other businesses include green-house farming and running a BP petroleum station in Silivri.

The estimated project cost is estimated at $50 million. The proposed IFC investment is an A loan up to $25 million equivalent.

20.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	20.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

Sarten is headquartered in Istanbul. It has 9 factories in Turkey, mostly located in industrial parks. The largest and the most established of Sarten’s Turkish factories is located in Silivri, a city on the Thracian peninsula, along the Sea of Marmara approximately, 70 kilometers west of Istanbul. The other Turkish factories are located in Corlu, Gebze, Gemlik, Karacabey, Izmir, Manisa and Adana provinces. In addition, the company has operations in Pleven, Bulgaria. Its facility in Romania, Tecuci will be operational in May 2007 and its Russian plant will be located in the Krasnodar region on coast of the Black Sea.

The project will help increase Sarten’s competitiveness and export capacity. The project will also enable the company to supply the customers with high quality products at affordable prices in a timely manner as a result of modernization of its plants and other efficiency improvements. Once the project is implemented, it will also support the company in its efforts to become a regional player through an investment in an affiliate in Russia, as well as expanding its Bulgarian and Romanian affiliates. This is in line with IFC’s strategy to promote South-to-South investments. The investment in Russia will increase competition in the Russian packaging sector for higher quality products. In addition, the project will employ 50 new staff for its green-field expansion in Russia, and an additional 20 employees for the brown-field expansions in Turkey.

IFC will be able to provide stable long-term financing for the company as it improves efficiencies in its operations in Turkey and expands into ventures abroad. Unlike Turkey’s largest conglomerates, access to long-term financing for second-tier companies is still limited in Turkey. IFC will further improve the company’s environmental and social policies by implementing best practices. As a mid-sized company that is scaling up operations and targeting new markets, Sarten feels that work with IFC would help it gain experience in attracting financing from international institutions and facilitate the company’s access to financial markets.

This is a Category B project according to IFC''s Environmental and Social Review procedure because a limited number of specific environmental and social impacts may result which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria. Applicable Performance Standards are:

Standards applicable to all plants:

- PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management;
- PS2: Labor and Working Conditions;
- PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement; and
- PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security.

Environmental and social review of the project included evaluation of environmental and social information presented by Sarten , site visits in Turkey and discussion with HR and Technical managers. Key issues identified are addressed in details in the Environmental Action Plan (EAP). Please refer to the IFC Environmental and Social Review Summary available at the World Bank Infoshop for additional information. Project information will also be obtainable at Sarten‘s website (http://www.sarten.com.tr/turkce/) and posted in each of the facilities.