Announcement of IFC Investment in Argentina Supports Petrochemical Sector on October 9, 1978

International Finance Corporation • 1818 H Street, N .W. Washington, O.C. 20433, U.S.A. 202-393-6360 IFC Press Release No. 79/9 Monday, October 9, 1978 IFC Investment in Argentina Supports Petrochemical Sector The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will help finance a new, $117 million, 110,000 metric tons-per-year, low density polyethylene manufacturing operation in Argentina through a $10 million loan to IPAKO Industrias·Petro- quimicas Argentinas, S.A., an Argentine petrochemical company and principal sponsor of the project. The project is one of the key components in a petro- chemical complex being built at Bahia Blanca, about 400 miles southwest of Buenos Aires. The complex is the roost important undertaking in Argentina at present and represents a major effort to expand petrochemical production and upgrade the technology and efficiency to international levels. The complex is expected to help revitalize Argentina's petrochemical sector. • The IFC loan to IPAKO is instrumental in helping the Company finance its investment in the project while strengthening its capacity to carry out other projects. IPAKO and DGFM, an enterprise of the Argentine Government, are invest- ing $28.7 million to establish Polisur S.M., which will implement the project. Banco Nacional de Desarrollo is lending $40.2 million; the Inter-American Devel- opment Bank, $34.2 million; and the Export-Import Bank of the United States $13 ~ 9 million. The Bahia Blanca complex is based on locally available natural gas and consists of a gas separation plant, an ethylene plant and six downstream plants. Polisur will be the largest of the downstream plants, consuming over half of the ethylene produced. Polisur's output will be marketed domestically and is expected to result in foreign exchange savings of some $80 million annually at full capacity. The project also supports Government's efforts to decentralize industry away from the greater Buenos Aires area. Process technology, technical assistance, basic engineering and related services are being provided by ARCO Polymers, a subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Company of the United States. (Any inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation in this project should be directed to the IFC Information Office, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, Telephone (202) 477-5340.)