Long-term loans approved in 1992

(December 18, 1992).- In 1992 CAF continued financing the execution of long-term projects, considered priority and of interest to the public and private sectors of its member countries.

Fourteen loan operations were approved in the five countries for a total of US$396 million: Bolivia US$51 million; Colombia and Peru US$70 million, respectively; Ecuador US$73 million; and Venezuela US$132 million (see accompanying table).

VENEZUELA CAF operations in Venezuela in 1992 went mainly to the petrochemical, hydroelectric and textile sectors. The three long-term loans approved will stimulate the private sector and promote foreign investment and exports.

A $47 million loan was approved in March for the joint venture SUPERMETANOL CA. for the Methanol II Project, consisting of design, construction and start up of the plant located in the Jose Antonio Anzoátegui Petrochemical Complex in Puerto La Cruz.

The plant will produce 2,000 metric tons/day of chemical grade methanol using natural gas, which is very abundant in Venezuela, as basic raw material. Half the production will be exported -- mainly to the United States -- while the rest will cover domestic demand (Venezuela currently imports 200,000 mt/year of methanol).

The main shareholders of the METANOL company are Pequiven and Ecofuel, together with a group of international financial institutions which participate in the company through the debt-investment swap mechanism.

This is the third loan granted to the Venezuelan petrochemical industry and the largest granted to the private sector of the five member countries. (The other loans for the petrochemical sector were for RESILIN and PRALCA).

In July, a US$55 million loan was approved for the utility CVG Electrificación del Caroní (EDELCA) to partially finance the Macagua II Hydroelectric Plant Project located near Ciudad Guayana.

Execution of the Macagua II project began in 1987 and the first two generating units are scheduled to start operating within two years.

This project is of high priority for Venezuela because it will help meet the growing energy needs of the large industries of Guayana, especially the aluminum producers.

For the textile sector, a US$30 million loan was approved in September for the company SUDAMTEX de Venezuela, to increase its production of yarn and finished fabrics by over 50%.

With activities in the Andean Group, Mercosur, the European Common Market and the United States, Sudamtex is a Venezuelan group with international projection in the vanguard of the Latin American textile industry.

CAF also granted the company a US$10 million line of credit to finance its foreign trade operations.