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Enron Mail |
I must be on a separate list because I do receive these clippings from A.
Bueno. Thanks. SS Brent Hendry@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT 03/13/2000 03:39 AM To: Sara Shackleton@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT cc: Subject: Clipping 03/13/2000 It doesn't look like you are on the distribution list yet. ---------------------- Forwarded by Brent Hendry/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT on 13/03/2000 03:08 PM --------------------------- Alexandre Bueno 13/03/2000 05:48 PM To: Michael Guerriero/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Pablo Acevedo/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Bernardo Andrews/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Diego Hollweck/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, John J Shoobridge/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Rodolfo Freyre/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Julian Poole/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Cristian Folgar/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Brent Hendry/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Andrea Calo/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Marta Ortiz/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Luis Juarros/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Guillermo Canovas/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT cc: Subject: Clipping 03/13/2000 BRAZIL: PRIMARY SURPLUS ON R$ 1.457BN IN JANUARY Gazeta Mercantil, 13 Mar 2000, p. a-7:- The primary surplus of the public accounts of the Brazilian government reached R$ 1.457bn in January 2000 (R$ 882mn in January 1999), including a Social Security deficit of R$ 725mn, taxes collection of R$ 15.144bn (R$ 11.897bn in January 1999) and expenses of R$ 13.512bn (R$ 11.326bn in January 1999). BRAZIL: PROVISIONAL MEASURE FOR TAX ON FUELS O Estado de S.Paulo, 11 Mar 2000, p. b-2:- According to a provisional measure which was signed on March 10th 2000 and will be valid from March 13th, the payment of the taxes PIS (Employees' Profit Participation Program), Pasep (Public Service Employee Savings Program) and Cofins (Tax for Social Security Financing) on the Brazilian fuels sector will be transferred to refineries. With the change, the Brazilian federal government will avoid losses of R$ 1.2bn in 2000 which would have resulted from the lack of payment of those taxes by fuels distribution companies which had won preliminary orders to not pay them, hindering the balance of the fuels market. ARGENTINA: OIL COMPANIES AND FUELS PRICES La Nacion (Argentina), 11 Mar 2000, p. 2/2:- Argentina's oil companies association CIP announced such companies will not reduce the price of fuels in the Argentine market, as such price was fixed at a US$ 28 value per barrel and it has increased to over US$ 32 over recent times. Jose Maria Ranero Diaz, from Repsol-YPF, remarked this sector's profitability margins are very low, only 5% while Juan Jose Aranguren from Shell expressed companies are working with important losses. ARGENTINA: "IT WAS THE RIGHT MEASURE" La Nacion (Argentina), 11 Mar 2000, p. 2/1:- "If tax collection figures remain stagnant at current levels, taxes may not be reduced, anticipated Argentina's Minister of Economy, Jose Luis Machinea, who also qualified as "the right measure" the implementation of a tax reform which implied significant increases over income taxes. During a recent interview, the official also admitted the government will intensify its negotiations with oil companies to force them to reduce the price of fuels in Argentina, as some companies may be operating as monopolies. Machinea announced the government had urged Repsol-YPF to reduce its stakes in some energy areas, where it holds a dominant position. Lower tariffs on assets imported from Mercosur countries as well as from extra-Mercosur areas and new credit lines from the Nacion bank are some of the measures the government may include as part of the exports promotion plan it may launch soon. Finally, Machinea predicted Argentina's foreign debt will fall, as a result of the measures adopted by its government. BRAZIL: INVESTMENTS AGAINST BLACKOUT Gazeta Mercantil, 13 Mar 2000, p. a-13:- The Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) informed on March 10th 2000 that US$ 41mn will have to be invested in 2000 in order to eliminate critical points of the Brazilian interconnected system to avoid blackouts. The investments were estimated in a survey carried out by the Brazilian National Electric System Operator (ONS). BRAZIL: COELCE WILL INVEST R$ 110MN Gazeta Mercantil, 13 Mar 2000, p. C-6:- Coelce, the electricity company of the Brazilian state of Ceara, will invest the amount of R$ 110mn in 1999 to expand its distribution network and in the automation of substations. The company is going to request to the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) a readjustment of its prices, to be valid between April 2000 and March 2001. BRAZIL: TENDER FOR LIGHT'S SHARES POSTPONED Gazeta Mercantil, 13 Mar 2000, p. b-1:- The tender for the sale of 9.23% of the control of the Brazilian electricity company Light, which was scheduled for March 14th 2000, will be postponed. According to the new president of the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Francisco Gros, the sale of Light's shares will be discussed in a meeting which will be held on March 13th, and then he decided to suspend the tender call. BRAZIL: INVESTMENTS IN CARIOBA Gazeta Mercantil, 06 Mar 2000, p. A-5:- The Brazilian energy company Companhia Paulista de Forca e Luz (CPFL), together with the companies Shell and Intergen, will invest the amount of US$ 600mn to repair the thermoelectric plant of Carioba and put it to operate. Carioba, which is based in the Brazilian city of Americana (state of Sao Paulo), is currently moved by combustible oil, but it will be transformed into a plant moved by gas. This plant has generation capacity of 945MW and the prediction for the beginning of its operations is the year 2003. BRAZIL: RHODIA'S PLANS FOR THERMOELECTRIC PLANT Gazeta Mercantil, 06 Mar 2000, p. A-5:- The French chemicals company Rhodia has a project to install a thermoelectric plant with generation capacity of 152MW in the Brazilian city of Paulinea (state of Sao Paulo). The responsible for the operations of this plant will be Energyworks. This company will use 30MW of the generated energy, while the rest will be commercialised by Rhodia. BRAZIL: COELCE REGISTERED PROFIT OF R$ 74.9MN Gazeta Mercantil, 13 Mar 2000, p. C-6:- The electricity company of the Brazilian state of Ceara (Coelce) registered the following results in 1999: - net profit of R$ 74.9mn (R$ 27.72mn in 1998); - net operational revenue of R$ 576mn (11.5% higher compared to 1998); - net profit per 1,000 shares of R$ 0.48 (in 1998 it was of R$ 0.18); The company explained the increase of its net operational revenue as a consequence of the increase of the electricity demand by 5.8% in Ceara and also as a consequence of the prices increase by 5.31%. BRAZIL: ELETROBRAS TO ISSUE US$ 300MN EUROBONDS Gazeta Mercantil, 13 Mar 2000, p. b-1:- The Brazilian state-owned electricity company Eletrobras confirmed that the company plans to issue US$ 300mn eurobonds in the beginning of April 2000. The eurobonds will have 5 years term and will be issued in the US and in the European market in an operation led by Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale. BRAZIL: NEW ALCOHOL TENDER Gazeta Mercantil, 13 Mar 2000, p. b-20:- A new tender for the sale of 60mn litres of alcohol fuel will be held by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture on March 16th 2000 in order to avoid abusive alcohol prices increases. BRAZIL: GASOLINE CONSUMPTION DECREASES O Estado de S.Paulo, 11 Mar 2000, p. B-3:- The Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP) informed that petrol consumption in Brazil decreased by 1%, or approximately 54,000 litres, in 1999 compared to 1998. According to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), alcohol and petrol production decreased by 15.9% in January. IBGE explained this decrease as a result of the decrease of the demand. BRAZIL: US$ 3.2BN INVESTMENTS FOR SANITATION O Estado de S.Paulo, 11 Mar 2000, p. b-2:- The Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) estimates that approximately US$ 3.2bn will be invested in the development of the Brazilian sanitation sector by 2010. BRAZIL: BAD COLLECTION FOR SANITATION IN RIO Gazeta Mercantil, 06 Mar 2000, p. a-5:- According to the co-ordinator of the Depollution Program for the Guanabara Bay (Greater Rio de Janeiro region in Brazil), Renato Lima do Espirito Santo, the shortage of collection network does not allow the use of the full sanitation capacity in the Greater Rio de Janeiro region. One example is that the Sewerage Treatment Stations (ETE) of Pavuna and Sarapui do not work, even with total capacity for 1 cubic metre/second, due to the lack of 700 kilometres of collection network. ARGENTINA: LPG TAX OPPOSED La Nacion (Argentina), 13 Mar 2000, p. 2/7:- The tax imposed by the Argentine province of Buenos Aires on the initial sale of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) has been opposed by the sector chamber Cegla, on the grounds that it prejudices distributors of LPG in favour of natural gas, given that the tax will be used to subsidise the expansion of natural gas pipelines. The law was imposed in 1979. ARGENTINA: OIL COMPANIES VS. GOV'T Buenos Aires Economico, 13 Mar 2000, p. 10:- The announcement by oil companies in Argentina last Friday, 10 March, that the recent drop in international crude prices would be reflected at the gas pump set off a new round of threats from the government. Argentina President, Fernando de la Rua, and his Economy Minister, both said they were prepared to battle the oil companies over prices. Meanwhile, the legislature is debating applying an export tax on oil, the funds from which would go to lowering consumer petrol taxes. ARGENTINA: ENRON NEXT TO START LEGAL ACTION Buenos Aires Economico, 13 Mar 2000, p. 2:- The US-based Enron Corp. could be the next company to take its case against Argentina to arbitration at the World Bank. Five other foreign firms have taken their cases to the World Bank, most of which are over differences with provincial governments. Enron, as well as Lancon International and Endesa, claim that taxes the provinces want to impose are unfair and were not part of concession and/or privatisation agreements. The French Compangnie Generale des Eaux is trying to claim damages when the north-western province of Tucuman cancelled its water services contract allegedly for serious errors. The oldest case is that of the firm, Eriday, which is claiming US$ 1.5bn owed by Argentina for its part in the Yacyreta hydroelectric dam. These cases are seen as one more negative legacy of the previous administration of Carlos Menem. ARGENTINA: TO STAND FIRM ON YACYRETA ISSUE La Nacion (Argentina), 12 Mar 2000, p. 2/7:- Argentina says that it will stand firm under any pressure to be applied by Henry Kissinger and his band of representatives from international companies to pay the some US$ 1.5bn due in budget overruns in the construction of the hydroelectric dam, Yacyreta. Eriday, the construction consortium, appointed Kissinger as its negotiator for its claims against the Argentine state. Officials in that country maintain they will review the claims one by one in an atmosphere of transparency, and for their part talk of amounts much less than those claimed by Eriday. ARGENTINA: CAPEX RESULTS Buenos Aires Economico, 13 Mar 2000, p. 18:- The Argentine energy company, Capex, reported earnings of US$ 11.6mn at the close of its intermediate balance on 3 January 2000, up by US$ 200,000 from the same period of a year earlier. Although net earnings were up, profitability was down considering that billing was up by 28%. Capex expects earnings to continue to increase especially now that the fourth line of the Comahue-Buenos Aires transmission line is working and the combined-cycle power plant in the western province of Neuquen is close to full operations. BRAZIL: MEASURES TO COMBAT FUEL PRICES INCREASES Folha de S.Paulo, 11 Mar 2000, p. 2-1:- The Brazilian government is studying some measures to avoid more increases in fuels prices, and one of this possible measures is to cancel subsides for the alcohol, and also to increase the prices of kerosene for aviation and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas). Allowing the increase of these prices, part of the oil import costs, which are included in gasoline prices, can be transferred to these other products and gasoline prices can be controlled. ARGENTINA: PETROL MARKET SHAKE UP DUE La Nacion (Argentina), 12 Mar 2000, p. 2/1:- The recent rises in petrol prices have caused new moves to be contemplated in Argentina to shake up the petrol market there. While many see government threats to control prices as empty, talk of opening up the market to other foreign oils imports and freeing up the petrol retail distribution chain is gaining ground. One idea circulating is to have supermarket chains act as sellers of foreign petrols. Oil companies remain firm in their stance that the reason petrol is so expensive in Argentina is because of taxes: 58% of the price at the pump.
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