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Vaja Jhashi – is the owner of a controlling stake (87.5%) and CEO of one of the largest agricultural holdings in Eastern Europe, the Trans-Oil Group of Companies (as of March 2021). The holding's turnover for the second half of 2020 amounted to $ 673.3 million.
Biography
Born on June 12, 1966 in Moscow.
Early years
Vaja Jhashi's parents originated from Georgia. His father, Enrico Jhashi, was a diplomat - which is why the family was often traveling. During the school years, Vaja Jhashi lived with his parents in the United States. He then traveled to Russia, where he graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, school of Oriental and African studies (Faculty of Arabic Philology).
Vaja Jhashi was also a student at Cairo University from 1991 to 1992. Vaja Jhashi holds an MBA from Indiana University.
Starting a business
In 1996, Vaja Jhashi met the famous entrepreneur James Kelly and drew his attention to the market of Eastern Europe and the CIS. Vaja Jhashi and James Kelly jointly ran the Trans-Oil Ltd business for 10 years, up until Kelly retired and handed the company over to Vaja Jhashi.
In 1998, it acquired its first asset in Moldova – the largest grain elevator in the country (located in Kauseni).
Trans-Oil Group of Companies
In the 2000s, the Group began transitioning from a small successful trading house to a vertically integrated corporation with its own infrastructure.
In 2004, Vaja Jhashi transformed Trans-Oil Ltd. into the Trans-Oil Group of Companies with a head office in Geneva, significantly expanding its capacity, and began to successfully develop the Group's international business. The holding is managed through its parent company Aragvi Holding International Ltd, together with other members of the Board of Directors.
Today, the Trans-Oil Group of Companies is one of the largest producers and processors of agricultural products in Eastern Europe. The holding owns over 65 thousand hectares of agricultural land, five modern oil extraction plants in Serbia, Romania and Moldova - with a total processing capacity of over 1 million tons of sunflower. In these countries, the Group owns and manages grain elevators with a total storage capacity of over 1 million tons of grain, two major ports – Giurgiulesti and Reni – on the territory of Moldova and Ukraine, which contain an innovative pneumatic grain supply system, as well as a private transportation infrastructure (grain carriers, wagons). The group has also launched an electronic trading platform, Transoilmarket, which relates to working with farmers. The group owns a brand of sunflower oil named "FLORIS", which is currently sold not only in Eastern Europe, but also in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Company activities
The main areas of activity of the Group are:
- cultivation of grain crops,
- storage of grain crops,
- export of grain crops,
- production and export of liquid oils, meal, granulated cake and husk.
In 2009, Trans-Oil Group opened a grain terminal in Giurgiulesti port with a capacity of 700 KMT of grain.
In 2010, the company launched the Greenfield project in the south of Moldova for the construction of a multi-purpose plant for the extraction of oils from oilseeds (with the capacity of 400 MT/day). In 2011, it opened a vegetable oil terminal in the Giurgiulesti port with a trading capacity of 300 KMT per year. During the same year, Trans-Oil Group acquired shares from its biggest competitor, the WJ Group, along with an oil extraction plant in Balti with refining and bottling lines.
In 2013, the Group gained control over managing an elevator for 250 thousand tons of grain in the port of Reni (Ukraine). In 2014, Trans-Oil Group purchased 75 new cars with grain bins with a volume of 116 KM, followed by another 100 cars in 2019.
By 2016, the terminal in Giurgiulesti port was capable of shipping over 1,000 tons of grain per hour on sea and river vessels – which is the highest speed in the region.
In 2019, the Group purchased the Ultex plant in Cindarei (Romania) with a processing capacity of 700 tons of sunflower seeds per day. This transaction allowed Trans-Oil Group to raise 20 million euros from an International Investment Bank. During the same year, Trans-Oil Group began the construction of a new oil processing plant in the Giurgiulesti International Port with a total cost of $ 24 million. The construction process will be completed in 2021, and the plant's capacity is expected to equate to 700 tons per day.
In October 2020, Trans-Oil Group acquired an oil extraction plant and a network of grain elevators from the Victoria Group, located in Serbia near the town of Szyd. The transaction value is estimated to be over $100 million.
Innovation
Trans-Oil Group actively utilizes innovation in its production facilities. In 2017, it introduced the Transoilmarket electronic trading platform for the agricultural producers.
In 2018, the holding launched a pneumatic grain supply line between terminals with a length of 515 meters and a capacity of 300 tons per hour in the Giurgiulesti Free Port.
Investors and Management
The company's rapidly-growing business required additional investments. Since the mid-2000s, the Group has been building relationships with the leading banks and international financial institutions. In 2018, Trans-Oil Group received corporate credit ratings from Standard&Poors and Fitch.
In April of 2019, the Trans-Oil Group placed Eurobonds worth $ 300 million on the Irish Stock Exchange through its parent company Aragvi Holding International Ltd, which were bought by investors from the United States, Great Britain and Switzerland. Citibank, Renaissance Capital and UBS AG acted as Join-Lead Managers for this 144A/Regulation S issuance. In October 2019, Trans-Oil Group secured a PXF syndicated loan of $180 million, $30 million of which were provided by the holding's long-standing partners, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Black Sea Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BSTDB), the Dutch Development Corporation FMO. Bank ING acted as Lead Manager and underwriter of this syndicated loan. The funds were used to expand the group's presence in new markets and strengthen its position in the European Union, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as to increase production of specific types of products.
In 2019, the American investment company Oaktree Capital Management (OCM) became a co-owner of Trans-Oil Group of Companies along with Vaja Jhashi. The OCM is a part of the asset management fund Brookfield Asset Management, whose total assets under management exceed $ 511 billion. It owns a 12.5% stake in the group's parent company - the Aragvi Holding International Ltd.
Charity work
On a regular basis, Trans-Oil Group transfers funds to medical institutions in the countries of its activities, cooperating with the Ministries of Health, Labor and Social Protection. The Group also supports medical institutions and doctors who are fighting the COVID-19 every day.
Trans-Oil Group organizes and sponsors children's sports events and competitions, supports various activities for children in the regions where it operates.
Additional information
Speaks 4 languages: Georgian, English, Arabic and Russian.
Family
Married. The couple has a son (as of March 2021).