Italy's Arvedi to receive finance from EIB under Juncker Plan

Cremona-based Italian steelmaker Arvedi Group is about to become the first Italian company being financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the investment plan proposed by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. In the first tranche of projects examined yesterday in Luxembourg by the board of the EIB, the financing of Arvedi was also included, as reported by Italian business newspaper Milano Finanza.
 
On March 5, Arvedi, having prepared a €190 million investment plan for the 2014-2018 period, asked the EIB for a loan of €90 million.
 
The investment plan foresees the modernization of some plants - with the introduction of new production processes - as well as the introduction of new products and research and development (R&D) activities in steel products during the period 2014-2018. In particular, the project comprises investments in two of Arvedi's northern Italian production sites. Since last October, Arvedi has owned Trieste-based Ferriera di Servola.
 
The first strand of the Juncker Plan aims to mobilize €315 billion in additional investments in the European Union over the next three years, i.e., in addition to the usual activities of the European Investment Bank and member states. The goal is to rectify a severe shortfall in investment in the European Union since the start of the financial crisis.