City Bank, Idcol to provide Tk 259cr for Pearl Global's expansion

City Bank PLC and the state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Idcol) will provide a Tk 259 crore term loan to Pearl Global, a multinational clothing manufacturer and supply-chain exporter, to expand its Bangladesh operations.

The financing will support expansion at Norp Knit Industries Ltd Unit 3 and Prudent Fashions Ltd Unit 2, reads a press statement. 

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A programme marking the arrangement of the fund was held at Sheraton Dhaka on Wednesday.

City Bank served as the arranger of the financing, while Idcol contributed Tk 160 crore in long-term financing at a concessional fixed rate.

They jointly structured the package to match the long-term requirements of both projects.

Norp Knit Industries, a readymade garment manufacturer, and Prudent Fashions, a washing facility, are scheduled to begin trial operations next month.

The financing is projected to create more than 5,000 jobs, save an estimated 36,504 MWh of energy annually, avoid 7,778 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, and generate about $2,271 million in export revenue over the next 10 years.

SM Monirul Islam, Idcol's acting managing director, said the state-owned institution has financed energy efficiency in Bangladesh since 2014, when the concept was still new to the market.

He said the two projects reinforce Idcol's nearly three-decade mandate to channel long-term capital into projects that strengthen the country's industrial base and sustainability profile. 

Md Mahbubur Rahman, additional managing director and chief financial officer of City Bank, and Sanjay Sarkar, country director for Bangladesh at Pearl Global, among others, were also present at the event.