IFC Provides $20m Loan to Support Pakistan’s Packaging Industry

IFC’s investment is expected to help Novatex maintain production while supporting jobs and export revenues connected with Pakistan’s manufacturing economy.

Pakistan's packaging industry is set to receive fresh financial support after the International Finance Corporation announced a loan of up to US$20 million for Novatex Limited, one of the country's major producers and exporters of plastic packaging materials.

The financing will help Novatex import essential raw materials and equipment needed for its manufacturing operations, supporting a domestic packaging supply chain that serves industries ranging from food processing and pharmaceuticals to consumer goods. These sectors depend on reliable packaging supplies to manufacture, protect and export their products, making local production important for businesses dealing with international markets and potential disruptions to imported materials.

Local Packaging Production Supports Export Industries

IFC's investment is expected to help Novatex maintain production while supporting jobs and export revenues connected with Pakistan's manufacturing economy. A dependable domestic source of packaging materials can also give downstream manufacturers greater protection against international supply interruptions that could otherwise delay production or increase operating costs.

Reducing dependence on imported packaging carries wider economic benefits for Pakistan because locally produced materials can serve companies that generate foreign exchange through exports. IFC Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services for the Middle East and Central Asia, Wagner Albuquerque de Almeida, said competitive export-oriented industries play an important role in creating employment and supporting Pakistan's longer-term economic growth.

The financing is also expected to strengthen Novatex's ability to serve manufacturers that require consistent supplies of packaging materials as they compete in domestic and overseas markets.

Novatex Expands Recycled PET Production

Sustainability forms another part of the investment, with Novatex already operating large-scale PET recycling facilities and working to expand its recycled PET, or rPET, production capacity.

Increasing the use of recycled PET can return more plastic material to productive use and reduce the need for entirely new raw material in packaging production, supporting the gradual development of a circular economy within Pakistan's packaging sector.

IFC will work with Novatex to bring its operations into closer alignment with IFC Performance Standards covering environmental and social management, giving the company additional support as it expands production and recycling activities while strengthening operational practices.

IFC Partnership Opens Door to Future Cooperation

Novatex CEO Rizwan Diwan described IFC as an important financial partner for Pakistani companies and said the latest investment represented the first step in the company's relationship with the development institution, with Novatex interested in expanding the partnership in the future.

For IFC, the investment combines support for manufacturing, employment and export competitiveness with improvements in supply-chain resilience and more sustainable production practices.

The financing also highlights the wider role of Pakistan's packaging industry, which sits behind several major manufacturing sectors and provides materials needed to move locally produced food, medicines and consumer products through domestic and international supply chains.