Morris Hong Kong (IFC-40057)

Countries
  • Cambodia
  • China
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Haining, Zhejiang-China and Prey Nob District, Sihanoukville-Cambodia
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jan 4, 2018
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
MORRIS HOLDINGS LIMITED
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Construction
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 26.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 103.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Jan 12, 2018

Disclosed by Bank Jan 8, 2018


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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.
According to the bank website, Morris Holdings Limited (“Morris” or the “Company”) is a publicly listed company and a global leader in the upholstered sofa industry. With a market capitalization of approximately US$200 million and 2016 sales of approximately US$141.5 million, the Company is the second largest upholstered sofa manufacturer in China in terms of export value to the U.S. Morris integrates the functions of design, research and development, manufacturing, online and off line sales, and after sales services. The proposed IFC investment will support Morris’ capacity expansion program for i) additional production facilities and working capital in both Cambodia and China in order to address production bottlenecks and growing demand and ii) refinancing of short term debt (together, the “Project”). South-South Investment and Higher Operational Efficiencies: Cambodia: The Project entails the transfer of knowledge and technical expertise as well as foreign direct investment from China to Cambodia, developing a stronger South-South value chain in the forestry and wood products sector. As a supplier to demanding U.S. and Canadian markets with stringent industry standards, Morris is well-placed to disseminate these practices to less developed countries. The adoption of best industry practices is expected to strengthen technological capacity and bring process improvements to the furniture industry in Cambodia, improving competitiveness at a larger scale than what is currently prevalent in the country. China: In addition, the China component of the Project will help the Company achieve even greater economies of scale in China, leading to more competitive products for domestic consumption as well as export markets. The planned expansion in China is expected to increase the Company's production by 30%. The proposed Project would build a new production facility in Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in line with IDP's vision. By undertaking a phased approach that starts with textile-based production (sofa covers) the Company is utilizing Cambodia's existing comparative advantages but is planning to invest in training and skill-building necessary to transition to furniture manufacturing and assembly. A successful outcome of the project is expected to demonstrate to international investors that Cambodia is a viable place of origin for high quality furniture and potentially attract new players. Furthermore, the Project is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy by upgrading the domestic manufacturing industry, diversifying exports, and integrating the country into new global value chains, thus strengthening its resilience to economic shocks.
Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.
Morris is 75% owned by Morris Capital Limited, a British Virgin Islands-incorporated holding company which is owned 85% by the Mr. ZOU Gebing (the “Sponsor”) and 15% by his wife Ms. WU Xiangfei. The other 25% of Morris is owned by public shareholders.
Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Morris Capital Limited Client -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
Morris Holdings Limited Mr. ZOU Gebing Chairman & CEO +86573-87266779 morriszou@morriszou.com 500 Youquan Road, Haining, Zhejiang 314400, People’s Republic of China www.morrisholdings.com.hk ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

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