The public offer of shares in Crescent Greenwood, a local/US textiles joint venture, is unlikely to take place until the last quarter of 1995. Operation of its new denim manufacturing plant will start before holding the offer.

The company was set up by the local Crescent Textile Mills and Greenwood Mills of the US in 1993. The existing shareholders are Crescent Textile Mills (42 per cent), Greenwood Mills (40 per cent), the International Finance Corporation (IFC - 10 per cent) and the Manila-based Asian Finance & Investment Corporation (AFIC - 5 per cent).

Loans of $42.4 million, including more than $20 million from the IFC will meet 55 per cent of the project costs. The Export Import Bank of the US is to lend $8.2 million towards the project, and ABN AMRO Bank of the Netherlands will lend $5 million. The commercial loan syndication was arranged by the US' Citicorp.

The $77 million plant to manufacture denim products is under construction at Faisalabad, and production is due to start in mid-1995. Crescent Greenwood is confident that its products can compete successfully once the local textile market is opened to foreign competition (see below - MEED 9:7:94).