Bulletin 547 - Friday, December 9, 2011

Chihuahua, Chihuahua.- The Governor of Chihuahua, Cesar Duarte Jaquez, will visit next year China, Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and several other countries, as part of the strategy to promote Chihuahua and generate investments at the State, Governor Duarte informed after returning from a business trip to Paris, France, from December 1 to 5. "Promoting Chihuahua is a priority. Great efforts are being made to stay on the right track in education and infrastructure. We have been told that there is good potential in aerospace industry; this is what French companies said. This reaffirms our leadership", he added before the media.

Source: El Diario de Chihuahua

Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.- Whan-bok Cho, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Mexico, made a tour through Ciudad Juarez for firsthand information about the safety environment, as requested by Korean companies which want to invest in the State of Chihuahua and specifically in Ciudad Juarez. The Ambassador explained that this is the only state in northern Mexico that does not have considerable Korean investment, but the arrival of Korea Electric Power Corporation -which will build a US$421 million combined cycle electric plant at El Encino, Chihuahua- has awakened interest among investors from his country. He said that, in addition, Koreans want information regarding Juarez because there is interest in the maquilador field, with the installation of plants related to electronics.

Source: El Diario

Mexico City.- A year after it was acquired by the Peruvian company Talma Servicios Aeroportuarios, Braniff Air Freight (BAF) estimates a 35% growth in the capacity of their two fiscal-yard warehouses installed inside Mexico City International Airport Customs, Andres Vazquez Vargas, CEO for BAF, informed. In an interview, Mr. Vargas said that the expansion is due to the movement of merchandises for high technology, automotive and textile sectors. "For next year, with the expected diversification in air cargo, the capacity of these warehouses -currently 5,000 square meters- should grow by 15%", he said.

Source: El Mexicano

Mexico City.- Before the year is over construction of the new Food Logistics Center at Valles Centrales in the State of Oaxaca could start, to which purpose an investment of around MXP$136 million (USD$10 million) will be channeled, Roberto Guadarrama, Head of the Institute for Development Planning (IDP), informed. He said that this center will be built on five thousand square meters and will develop a new business scheme to store up, distribute and sell merchandise in the region. In an interview, he further informed that this Valles Centrales Food Logistics Center is part of the Smart Supply and Distribution System, Sistema Inteligente de Abasto y Distribución (SIADA), a study made for the State at the request of the National Confederation of Merchants in Supply Centers, Confederacion Nacional de Agrupaciones de Comerciantes de Centros de Abasto (Conacca).

Source: T21

Chihuahua, Chihuahua.- Cesar Duarte Jaquez, Governor of Chihuahua, presented the many incentives the State has to offer to the mining company Merchant Petroleum, interesting the company's main partner. During his trip to Paris, France, Governor Duarte held a meeting with Nick Adam, main partner of Merchant Petroleum, the mining and petroleum company, who showed great interest in mining investment projects in the several regions of our state. The group headed by Cesar Duarte in a trip through Europe presented the geographical, productive, connectivity and public services conditions which Merchant Petroleum will undoubtedly find attractive in their interest in investing in Chihuahua, which is among the first places in the world in silver extraction; in addition to having a potential gold and copper mining.

Source: Tiempo

Madrid, Spain.- Abengoa, the Spaniard engineering and energy group, announced last Monday they will build a power central in the Mexican town of Centro Morelos, for US$440 million. The engineering and construction project for this central with 640 megawatts power, was entrusted by the Mexican state-owned power generation and distribution company, Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Abengoa informed in a press release. With this contract, Abengoa's projects portfolio in Mexico reaches more than US$1.5 billion. This combined cycle plant will start operating within 24 months and is part of "Morelos Integral Project" (Proyecto Integral Morelos), a key initiative for the development of central Mexico, providing for a diversification of power sources and greater energy efficiency and sustainability in the metropolitan area.

Source: El Norte

Mexico City.- Several containers with pieces for trucks assembly arrive through ports in the Mexican Pacific to start operations in the assembly plant to be opened by the Chinese company JAC Motors in Mexico next February. Oscar Romero, General Director, said in an interview that they will start with the assembly of one truck per day in their premises in Culiacan, Sinaloa. Sales by JAC Motors are rather slow, Mr. Romero acknowledged. However, they are still estimating to close the year with 50 units sold and forecasts to sell 250 vehicles next year. "We are looking for dealers, we currently have two and we are expecting to open dealerships in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara", he said. According to information from the company, between January and August this year they went from tenth to third among vehicles assemblers in China and ranked second in the export of automobiles for private use and first in light trucks exports.

Source: T21