Approval of USD 500 million for Eletrobrás

(Caracas, October 1, 2010).- Today CAF approved an A/B loan for USD 500 million to finance part of the investment plan of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. (Eletrobrás), a strategic company for Brazil’s electricity sector.

“With this operation, CAF continues the support it has been giving the Brazilian electricity sector, which has been declared to be strategic by that country’s Federal Government,” highlighted Enrique García, the Latin American financial institution’s executive director. García also pointed out that this brings loans approved by CAF for Eletrobrás in recent years to more than USD 1.3 billion.

The purpose of Eletrobrás’s investment plans is to expand and improve efficiency in the generation, transmission, and distribution of energy, renew the strategy for the distribution business, continue maintaining a high standard of corporate management, and selectively identify opportunities for growth in given international markets.

García also mentioned his satisfaction at conducting this A/B operation together with a large number of banks making up the syndicate. In point of fact, the loan consists of a contribution from CAF of USD 125 million, corresponding to tranche A, with the USD 375 million of tranche B being financed by a bank syndicate made up of BBVA, Banco Santander, and HSBC.

A/B loans are a co-financing mechanism developed by multilateral agencies for jointly financing development projects with other financial institutions. The benefits generated by this type of operation include the catalytic effect in favor of the region; in other words, the possibility of attracting funds, through CAF, from third parties at highly competitive rates. About Eletrobrás

Eletrobrás has been a client of CAF’s since 1997. It is a mixed open capital corporation whose shares are traded on the São Paulo (Bovespa) and the Madrid Stock Exchanges and whose level 1 ADRs are traded on the secondary stock market. The Federal Government is the majority shareholder and the Eletrobrás group is Brazil’s main electricity supplier and also the major source of financing for the electricity sector. CAF es una institución financiera latinoamericana constituida en 1970 con el objetivo de impulsar el desarrollo sostenible y la integración regional. Promueve el crecimiento sostenido, sostenible y de calidad en la región, mediante el financiamiento de proyectos de los sectores público y privado, y la provisión de cooperación técnica y otros servicios especializados. CAF, conformada por 18 países de América Latina, El Caribe, Europa y 14 bancos privados, es una de las principales fuentes de financiamiento multilateral y un importante generador de conocimiento para la región. Para mayor información visite www.caf.com