Pannonia Bio Zrt. signed a EUR 135 million credit agreement with the Hungarian Bank Consortium, established with the participation of Budapest Bank, K & H, Magyar Export-Import Bank and Raiffeisen Bank.
Pannonia Bio will thus be able to further increase its capacity to produce bioethanol and non-GM animal feed, to make it more efficient and to make new investments in biotechnology. It also creates new jobs and further exports and increases the degree to which fodder can be bought.
" We are delighted that the Hungarian Banking Consortium provided this opportunity for us. Financial support provides new credit facilities to the usual workflows, provides a basis for capacity building and makes it economical for the remaining low debt management, "said Lajos Dobai, financial director of Pannonia Bio.
"The Dunaföldvár plant is already the largest bio-refinery in Europe. The current investment further reduces costs and increases total production capacity. It also supports the introduction of new, innovative bio products, which are particularly promising in the field of human and animal health, "said Zsolt Lengyel, board member of Pannonia Bio, who was also one of the first employees of the Dunaföldvár factory. "
The Dunaföldvár plant directly and indirectly created 2000 jobs in Tolna County. Enlargement creates additional jobs thanks to the strong economic multiplier effect of the plant. "
Banking support not only the Pannonia Bio but also the stability of the industry. The operation of Pannonia Bio is a peg of success in the future as bioethanol industry can operate in a predictable regulatory environment in Hungary by 2020.
How the domestic and EU regulations will evolve in the period until 2030 still raises questions. At the same time, it is certain that bioethanol is the most effective means available to achieve ambitious climate policy goals. Bioethanol produced by Pannonia Bio's Dunaföldvár biofuel emits 65 percent less greenhouse gas than fossil fuels.
In Hungary, 5 percent of bioethanol (E5) is currently being added to gasoline and according to the government's original plans, the 6.5 percent mixing rate could have been reached by 2018. The implementation of this plan, however, stopped in December last year, and the question is not resumed until 2019. But agriculture has already recognized the value of bioethanol production, and the introduction of E10 at home could be the only way to produce true, not just paper-based results in energy.
Pannonia Bio exports bioethanol and high-quality fodder to 20 countries and produces competitive products on the international market from corn produced in Hungary. Thus, added value remains within the country's borders. Pannonia Bio contributes nearly $ 500 million to Hungary's GDP as the largest bio-refiner in Europe.