Venezuela:
For Investors Interested in Aluminium
Executives Ratifies Privatization of the
Aluminium Companies for First Quarter of 1998
Source: Venezuelan Investment Fund - FIV (http://www.fiv.gov.ve)
Caracas, 13 January 1998. On Monday, 12 January, the president of the Venezuelan Investment Fund, Alberto Poletto, confirmed to the pre-qualified investors in the privatization process of the aluminium companies the Executive's decision to continue with the same for its culmination at the end of the first quarter of this year.
Poletto said that the conditions exist for this privatization since the atmosphere is favourable and referred to the position of the President of the Republic in his speech on 1 January, when he said that after the success of the transfer of SIDOR, this Government expects that the aluminium process will be concluded this year, once the National Congress has approved the sales contract for the shares of the "Tenedora de Acciones" aluminium company, integrated by the companies Alcasa, Venalum, Bauxilum and Carbonorca, which is being analyzed by the Bicameral Commission of the legislative body.
This meeting held at the headquarters of the Venezuelan Investment Fund constitutes the first meeting held this year between the representatives of the National Executive and the pre-qualified investors for the sale of the companies in the aluminium sector and was attended, among others, by: Marubeni, Billiton International Metals B.V., Sural, Reynolds Metal Company, Hydro Aluminium, Kaiser Aluminium Corporation, Alcan Aluminium Limited- Alcoa, Ormet, Alentuy.
The representatives of the Executive were the Finance and Cordiplan ministers, Freddy Rojas Parra and Teodoro Petkoff; the deputy ministers of Energy and Mines, Evanan Romero, and of Environment, Maria Rincones; the president of Edelca, Efrain Carrera; Jose Rafael Leon Orsoni, General Manager of CVG; Pablo Morales, President of the Aluminium Companies; Waldo Negron, Coordinator of Strategic Associations of this regional Corporation, and the FIV authorities participating in the process.
Senator Freddy Muñoz, representing the legislative body, evaluated the progress made since the last meeting in New York last November, which he considered positive for the Special Bicameral Commission to include some of the observations made by the investors in the sales contract, among which he stressed the period of time for making the investments and the terms for drafting the same clause, as well as the issue of work stability, the contract for the supply of electricity by Edelca, and the obligations of an environmental nature, among others.
In this way, National Congress, as part of the State, has fulfilled its responsibility in the preparation of the report on the sales contract. After the contract and the restructuring of the debt of the aluminium companies has been approved by the legislative body, a period of approximately 30 days has been estimated for holding the public act of presenting offers.
It must be noted that the investors present at this meeting were able to confirm the Executive's will to finalize this process at the end of this first quarter. In this respect, some issues and observations made earlier by the interested groups were evaluated, and some recommendations made by the FIV itself were incorporated.
The head of the Venezuelan Investment Fund said that this institute considers it advisable that the pre-qualified investors for this process should specify in the short term the general terms of their consortium agreements, in addition to offering the alternative of a new and short access to the Data Room with updated information on the companies to be privatized.
Finally, Poletto told the investors that the FIV and the CVG are optimistic about this process of selling a majority percentage of the shares of the "Tenedora de Acciones" company, which is integrated by the companies Alcasa, Venalum, Bauxilum and Carbonorca.