It is a challenge for Kyrgyz companies to attract foreign investors. Kyrgyzstan is not perceived as an attractive investment destination. Companies may not be managed to a standard that meets the expectations of foreign investors. To make Trilight more appealing to foreign investors and partners, we decided to

• present Trilight as a socially responsible company, and
• manage Trilight to international standards. This meant having corporate governance standards and maintaining suitable financials.

To start Trilight’s journey on becoming a socially responsible company, we decided to increase collaboration with local farmers. Trilight purchased milk from local farmers and paid a price higher than what the other buyers paid. However the amount of milk produced by local farmers was much less than what Trilight needed. At that time the farmers were supplying about 50 litres per day. The farmers needed support to increase production. To help them, we initiated discussions with Helvetas. Representatives from Helvetas and Hivos visited the factory.

I started initial discussions with foreign companies and investors. I presented our investment and what we were planning to do. I met many industry leading companies in Scandinavia. Companies I met included one of the largest bakeries in Sweden with over 50 years’ experience, the largest distributor of baked goods and owner of numerous factories in Northern Europe, the worlds leading manufacturer of baked good ‘enhancers’ and a top pastry chef from Sweden and Europe. I also met with many investors. One of them was a large investment fund in Germany. They said their minimum investment amount is €5 million. Trilight was far from ready for that kind of investment. But these were opportunities that we could work towards in future, one step at a time.

Unfortunately, when we started having problems with Trilight, discussions with foreign organisations was put on hold.  This means putting on hold opportunities that could attract industry leading companies to Kyrgyzstan, grow Trilight, create jobs and export opportunities. Discussions with Hivos and Helvetas regarding potential opportunities for assisting local farmers was also put on hold. Attached are letters of support.

Note: A criminal case is currently open. These are two most recent letters I received from the prosecutor.

уведомление

Opening of Criminal Case March 2018

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