PRAN was founded by the family of Mr. Amjad Khan Chowdury. PRAN consists of six operating units. It is primarily a family owned business with the exception of AMCL PRAN, which is a listed company on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange; PRAN Agro Ltd and PRAN Dairy Ltd which were started with the assistance from Bangladesh Bank’s Entrepreneurial Fund.

Total project cost is estimated at $51.2 million of which IFC will provide loan of up to $15 million.

15.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	15.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

PRAN headquarters are in Dhaka and its production main facilities are located in three sites: Ghorashal and Palash, north of Dhaka and Natore northwest Bangladesh. In addition the company also has smaller facilities each for premium rice and tea processing in Rangpur, northwest Bangladesh and in Chittagong, southeast Bangladesh, respectively.

The project would be a corporate-wide expansion.

The proposed corporate investment program will support the continued growth of a leading food company in Bangladesh to expand capacity, improve operating efficiencies and exploit domestic and export market opportunities. The company’s growth has an extended reach on the local economy around production sites, with significant benefits for employment, farming, local SMEs as well as taxpayers.

- Support upgradation of quality management system and environment standards for PRAN, creating demonstration effect for other companies.
- Supporting a potential south-south player: One of PRAN’s strategic objectives is to set up operations in North East India.
IFC’s support of PRAN will allow the company to pursue its growth strategy and allow for opportunities for further supporting and financing such south-south ventures.
- Supporting the company in improving its Corporate Governance practice.
- Providing long-term financing.

This is a Category B project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects. The review of this project consisted of appraising technical, environmental and social information submitted by the project sponsor; plant and field visits to review production processes; and meetings with the company’s management team to discuss IFC’s PSs, guidelines and other requirements.

Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems: The company is HACCP compliant and has obtained a company wide ISO 9001 (Quality) certification. It has further agreed to develop, within an agreed timeline, an integrated management system covering ISO 9001-2000, ISO 14000, OHSAS 18000 standards and HACCP for food safety.

Labor and Working Conditions: PRAN has an HR policy that is consistent both with relevant local regulations, as well as international good practices on some aspects. The general housekeeping in facilities was found to be of reasonable standards in the plants visited.

Pollution Prevention and Abatement: The existing PRAN facilities receive water from own tube wells and electricity from the national grid. Two facilities are equipped with sewage and/or wastewater treatment plant as required and the ETP in the third facility is currently under construction.

Community Health, Safety and Security: All PRAN facilities are located in rural areas and nature of the operations does not present significant safety and security risks to nearby communities.

Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement: As part of the proposed Project, the Company will not be acquiring new land.

Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource Management: There are no legally protected areas in the vicinity of any of PRAN operations and PRAN operations do not involve modification or degradation of any biodiversity resource.

The company has agreed to take corrective actions where necessary to ensure adherence to World Bank/IFC policies and procedures for all environmental and social issues and report them in the Annual Environmental & Social Monitoring Report (AMR) where applicable.