York Timbers (Proprietary) Limited (FMO-63750)

Countries
  • South Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO)
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
A
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
Apr 12, 2024
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
York Timbers Proprietary Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
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)
$ 13.95 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.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 262.50
Converted using 2024-04-12 exchange rate.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ FMO website

Updated in EWS Aug 10, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Jun 18, 2024

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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’s website, the investment aims to refinance existing long-term debt facilities, to fund land acquisition and relevant planting activities, and to support general working capital.

York Timbers is an integrated forestry company owning and managing pine plantations and operating efficient wood processing plants. According to the Bank, this is a strong fit with FMO's Forestry Strategy. FMO's facility will match with the maturity profile of the plantations, which will further support York Timbers to reduce its dependency on third-party wood supply, improving cost competitiveness. FMO's additionality is evident by establishing enduring partnerships with York Timbers for the long term.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

York Timbers falls under E&S category A due to the permanent nature of its activities, the significant footprint (about 60,000ha of 80,000ha), diverse nature of operations (Forestry and Fleet, Processing, Wholesale, and Agriculture) and potential impact on local communities and biodiversity. FMO's environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with certain IFC Performance Standards (PS). PS1 to PS4 and PS6 (biodiversity) will be applicable to all operations. Additionally, PS5 (Land Acquisition) will be applicable to the use of proceeds. The absence of Indigenous People (PS7) has been confirmed. Cultural Heritage (PS8) sites on York Timbers' existing landholdings have been identified, documented and mapped, with management plans implemented. York Timbers has implemented management measures to limit the risk and offset the potential impacts including receiving FSC certification for the forestry operations.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Funding: FMO NV

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.

York Timbers Proprietary Limited is a subsidiary fully owned by York Timber Holdings Limited, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. York is the largest solid wood, lumber and plywood producer in South Africa, with operations centred in two main geographic areas namely; the Highveld operations in Jessievale and Escarpment Operations in Sabie. As an integrated forestry company, York Timbers manages approximately 60,000 hectares of FSC-certified high-quality pine plantations and around 30,000 hectares of high conservation area, and operates two sawmills and one plywood mill. York has also recently diversified into agriculture and crops (i.e. avocado, macadamia, and soft citrus).

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - York Timber Holdings Limited Parent Company -
- - - - York Timbers Proprietary 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.

No contacts available at the time of disclosure.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

As part of FMO's ex-ante disclosure (disclosure of transactions before contracting), you can send requests or questions for additional information to: disclosure@fmo.nl

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF FMO

Communities who believe they will be negatively affected by a project funded by the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) may be able to file a complaint with the Independent Complaints Mechanism, which is the joint independent accountability mechanism of the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and the German Investment Corporation (KfW). A complaint can be filed in writing, by email, post, or online. The complaint can be filed in English or any other language of the complainant. The Independent Complaints Mechanism is comprised of a three-member Independent Expert Panel and it can provide either problem-solving, compliance review or both, in either order. Additional information about this accountability mechanism, including a guide and template for filing a complaint, can be found at: https://www.fmo.nl/independent-complaints-mechanism

How it works

How it works