Bulletin 419 - Friday, May8, 2009

Mexico City,- In the second half of this year, Foton Mexico will start building a plant in Mexico, a medium term project which purpose is manufacturing 50 thousand light trucks every year, Bernardo Garcia Manzano, Chairman and CEO in Mexico, informed. He said they have budgeted US$200 million for the first stage of this plant, where production volume will allow meeting the demand for their Class 3 to Class 5 vehicles in regions such as United States, Central and South America. Foton started operations in cargo transportation in March 2008 and in their first year of operations sold around 400 units; for 2009 forecasts are selling two thousand trucks.

Source: T21

Monterrey, Mexico,- The Monterrey-based corporation Bienes Turgon completed the purchase of assets and shares of Delphi's Global Exhaust and Catalytic Converters Business. The units purchased are located in Poland, Australia, South Africa and Monterrey, in addition to Technology Development Centers in Michigan, USA and Luxemburg. After completing the acquisition, Bienes Turgon officially started operating this business under the name Katcon Global, Fernando Turner, the Company's President informed. The recent purchase will allow the Company to double invoicing to between US$600 million and US$800 million per year, and sell their products to close to 60 plants all over the world. The transaction was valued in US$17 million, which Turgon will pay with its own resources.

Source: El Norte

Baja California, Mexico,- Getronics Inc is planning to invest US$20 million in Latin America between 2009 and 2010 and bring to Mexico 50% of this investment: US$10 million, to expand operations in Tijuana, Baja California and hire 200 new Mexican employees in Engineering and Marketing areas. This strategy will provide for a 20% increase in sales by this developer of Information Technology and Communications solutions, as well as a 10% growth in Mexico in Workspace Management operations during 2009 and enter into new market niches, such as telecommunications and government, segments in which Getronics still has very little participation. The decision to allocate to Mexico half of their investments in the Region is the result of strong development opportunities Mexico has given to Getronics. "Latin America is a key region for Getronics, and that is why we made the decision for these investments of which Mexico will receive 50%, because we want to open new markets. Investments are for around US$20 million and are starting right now and up to mid 2010", a spokesperson informed.

Source: El Financiero

Mexicali, Baja California,- With a strong investment in the short term, Japanese .and Korean companies ratified their confidence in Baja California to continue investing in operations with higher value added. The companies in the list include Sharp, Kyocera, Sanyo, Toyota, Sony, Furukawa, Hitachi, LG Electronics Corporation, Samjng LND and Samsung Electronics. Sharp in Osaka, Japan through their General Manager D. Koshima informed plans for the plant established in Baja California. He informed that Sharp wants to expand operations and to this purpose they are installing an LCD manufacturing and modules assembly plant to produce 5 million TV sets by 2010 and generate 3 thousand jobs. Also, Sanyo's President, Seiichiro Sano, informed they will invest around US$10 million in the next few years to improve the machinery they currently have in the State. The International President of Kyocera Corporation, Noboru Nakamura, informed about an investment that will provide for the generation of 900 jobs and informed that the kickoff ceremony for the plant's construction is scheduled for next June. This plant will have 240 thousand square feet where solar panels will be manufactured.

Source: Siglo 21

Mexico, Distrito Federal,- The Japanese company Panasonic has made of Mexico the center to distribute LCD screens to all of Latin America, and has therefore invested more than one million US Dollars to transform their CRT TV sets factory in Ixtapaluca, State of Mexico, into facilities devoted to the assembly of more than 250 thousand LCD screens during their first year, Masumi Hirose, Panasonic Mexico's President assured. "The plant we have in Tijuana, Baja California focuses on supplying our products' demand in the United States, with the transformation of Ixtapaluca Plant we will be able to supply the domestic market from a better location, which will allow cutting down operation costs", Hirose said. "The new facilities that usually occupy between one thousand and one thousand 500 employees, shows Panasonic's commitment for Mexico after three decades here and will be devoted to the assembly of Viera high definition LCD models with screens that go from 26 to 42 inches", Hirose informed.

Source: El Economista

Mexico,- After the alliance of the Italian Fiat with the American Chrysler was materialized, Fiat's CEO in Mexico, Jorge A. Martinez Madero, assured that "this will generate a great future for Fiat in Mexico, with numerous positive implications for the brand all over the world and specifically for the Mexican market". After Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, the alliance between this US Company and Fiat was materialized, which was endorsed by the US President, Barack Obama. Chrysler cleared out that their plants in Canada, Mexico and other countries outside the European Union are not part of the filing for bankruptcy.

Source: El Semanario