MEXICO CITY--Brazilian businessman Marcelo Odebrecht said his
companies are planning to invest $8.1 billion in Mexico over the
next five years in a wide range of projects from petrochemicals to
highway concessions, the Mexican government reported Tuesday.
Mr. Odebrecht, whose conglomerate includes operations in
construction, petrochemicals, transportation, infrastructure and
biofuels, met in Mexico on Tuesday with President Enrique Pena
Nieto. The Brazilian businessman said the Odebrecht Organization
has already invested $1.8 billion of the planned amount in studies
and projects, the presidential press office said in a statement.
Investments will be in areas such as petrochemicals, renewable
energy, ethanol, sugar and highway concessions.
Odebrecht controls Braskem, a petrochemicals concern that has
teamed up with Mexico's Grupo Idesa in an ethylene and polyethylene
joint venture in Mexico's Veracruz state. The project, which is
under construction, requires $3.2 billion in fixed investment and
is expected to involve total investment of $4.5 billion.
Odebrecht is also a major ethanol producer. Unlike Brazil, which
along with the U.S. is a world leader in ethanol production, Mexico
has yet to become a user of the fuel, although there are some pilot
projects for producing it. Mexico produced a record seven million
tons of sugar in the 2012-2013 season from 61.4 million tons of
sugar cane.
Despite the downturn in Mexico's economy in the second quarter,
foreign direct investment has gathered pace this year after a weak
2012 in which it totaled $15.5 billion. FDI reached $23.9 billion
in the first half of 2013, boosted by the buyout of brewer Grupo
Modelo by Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD).
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
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