Announcement of Investment in Cementos Bio-Bio in Chile on August 7, 1959

· N T=E R NAT ION A L "F I NAN C E <./ C O R PO RAT I O_N C 1(818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 25, D. c. TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3~6360 ,) ,, PRESS RELEASE MO. 29 -- For Release A.H. Newspapers SUBJECT: Investment in Cementos Bio-Bio Friday, August 7, 1959 in Chile The International Finance Corporation (IFC) annouJ1ced today a commitment to invest u.s.$1,000,000 in Ceraentos Bio-Bio, s.A., a new Chilean company. Koppers International, C.A., · (a subsidia.ry of Koppers· Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh), Transoceanic Development Coi-poration, Ltd. of T.,oronto and the Chilean sponsoring g-.i:-oup are investing in colI!lllon stock of the company. Bio-Bio will build a new cement plan~ at Huachipato, near Concepcion, about 350 miles south of Santiago. Sr. Hernan Briones G., President of the engineering firm H. Briones y Compania, () • Ltda., is chairman. The Bio-Bio plant will adjoin Conrpania de Acero del Pacifico, S.A. (CAP), a large C:h..ilean steel mill. CAP will provide tbe principal raw materials of slag and limestone. Capacity·of the new plant will be approximately 13~ 1 000 tons of portland, iron portland an~k-;slag cement. The latter two types ar~ to be produced in Chile for the first time•' Bio-Bio's market will be principally in the Concepcion area and ·southern Chile. Estimates of public and private construction indicate that cement consumption will increase substantially, and that by the end of 1962, even with Bio-Bio in full production, cement consumption will exce·ed domestic production. Under the supervision and coordination of t~e general engineers H. Briones y Cia., Ltda.:1 detailed engineering of production facilities of the new plant ,y ,.-,/ has been done by the machinery and equipment supplier, MIAG i~uehlenbau und 4I Industrie G.m.b.H., of Germany. l-i!AG is one of the largest suppliers of cement equipment ir1 the world. H. Bri.ones y Cia., Ltda. will be the supervising engineers for the construction of the plant.  -2 - Bio-Bio has a management and technical assistance agreement ,d.th Koppers • International for supernsi?n of the technical and production aspects of the canpany during the first ten!iyears or operations: Total cost of the proje~c:i?is about $5 million, of which $1.6 ~llion is t~;1 covered by supplier's and other credits~ Substantial investments in common stock of the company are being rnade by Koppers Inte~ational, by Transoceanic, and by the sponsoring group. Over $1 tn;llion is being raised by th~ sale or shares to the Chilean public of wl~ich a large proportion has been subscribed. IFC 's investment of d~l million will be represented by u.s. dollar Notes · matll!ing by 1971, and bearing interest at 7'/o in dollars and additional interest in Chilean pes·os related to profits. In addition, IFC will receive an opti.on :, on shares or the company at par. The commitments by IFC,. Koppers and Transoceani.Q a1•e subject to completion of the necessary legal formaJ.ities. \\ \;, ' {i \1 \I \ • •