BRAZIL: POWER STATIONS IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL
Gazeta Mercantil, 01 Mar 2000, p. a-9:-
 There are projects for the construction of 4 thermal power stations in the 
Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul with total capacity of 1,800 MW by 2003 
and total investments of R$ 1.6bn.
The Brazilian company CEEE has the project to construct the 350 MW coal power 
station of Candiota 3. The contract for its construction was originally 
signed in 1981, but CEEE did not have funds to continue the construction (a 
solution is expected to be reached soon).
The 500 MW gas power station in the city of Triunfo which will be constructed 
by the consortium led by CEEE and also composed by Gaspetro, Sulgas, 
Ipiranga, Techint and RGE Distribuidora with investments of R$ 300mn.
The 750 MW gas power station in the city of Montenegro of the company AES 
with investments of R$ 700mn.
The 250 MW coal power station in the city of Candiota of the company Copelmi, 
which has already made an agreement for technical project, equipment purchase 
and construction with the US company Parsons. 


BRAZIL: POWER STATION STUDY IN SANTA CATARINA
Gazeta Mercantil, 01 Mar 2000, p. a-9:-
 The Brazilian coal companies Criciuma and Metropolitana ordered to the US 
consultancy company Parsons technical feasibility studies for the 
construction of the 440 MW thermal power station Usitesc in the Brazilian 
city of Criciuma (state of Santa Catarina) with estimated investments of R$ 
500mn.
An agreement has been closed between the coal companies and the Brazilian 
electricity generation company Gerasul by which Gerasul will have exclusive 
rights to access the feasibility studies to decide if will conduct the 
project.


BRAZIL: SALE OF LIGHT'S SHARES WAITS FOR ANEEL 
Gazeta Mercantil, 01 Mar 2000, p. B-4:-
 The BNDESPar, the participations company of the National Bank for Economic 
and Social Development (BNDES), is waiting for the authorisation of the 
National Electricity Agency (Aneel) to sell its 9.23% of shares in the 
electricity distributor Light, which operates in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
BNDESPar was waiting for the register of the Securities Commission (CVM) on 
February 29th, but it was not possible to be done because Aneel had not 
approved the sale yet.
The reason for the necessity of the approval by Aneel is that the sale of 
these shares will result in the transferring of the control of the company.
The French company Electricite de France (EDF) and the American companies 
Reliant and AES own 11.4% of Light's shares, and EDF will probably acquire 
the shares currently owned by BNDESPar.


BRAZIL: BP AMOCO AND REPSOL-YPF'S POWER STATIONS
Gazeta Mercantil, 01 Mar 2000, p. a-9:-
 A consortium composed by the British company BP Amoco and the Spanish 
company Repsol-YPF will construct 2 natural gas power stations (total 520 MW) 
and a regasifying terminal in the Brazilian city of Sao Goncalo (state of 
Ceara).
The project is called Dunas, being located at the Industrial Port Complex of 
Pecem, and will demand investments of US$ 500mn. The value of the investment 
was divulged by the infrastructure secretary of Ceara, but has not been 
confirmed by the consortium.


BRAZIL: PETROBRAS' CONTRACT WITH JBIC
Gazeta Mercantil, 01 Mar 2000, p. a-5:-
 A project finance contract of US$ 320mn will be signed by the Brazilian 
state-owned oil company Petrobras with the Japan Bank for International 
Co-operation (JBIC) on March 1st 2000.
The project finance is for the project Cabiunas in the Brazilian Campos Basin 
(state of Rio de Janeiro) which will demand total investments of US$ 800mn 
with the following:
- construction of a natural gas processing unit;
- construction of a thermal power station;
- modernisation of 18 gas production platforms;
- construction of 2 gas pipelines.


BRAZIL: IPIRANGA REGISTERED PROFIT OF R$ 48.9MN
Gazeta Mercantil, 01 Mar 2000, p. C-6:-
 The refinery division of the Brazilian oil group Ipiranga registered the 
following results in 1999: 
- net profit of R$ 48.9mn, while in 1998 the company registered R$ 106.3mn;
- net sales of R$ 1.2bn, while in 1998 the company registered R$ 760.6mn;
The company produced an average of 12.035mnbopd in 1999, which is an increase 
by 30% compared to the previous year.
The distribution division of the group, Companhia Brasileira de Petroleo 
Ipiranga, registered the following results:
- net sales of R$ 5.7bn, while in 1998 its net sales reached R$ 4.5bn;
- net profit of R$ 198.4mn, while in 1998 its profit was of R$ 96.6mn.
The distribution division of the company in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, 
Distribuidora de Produtos de Petroleo Ipiranga, registered the following 
results:
- net sales of R$ 6.9bn, while in 1998 the company registered R$ 5.4bn;
- net profit of R$ 86.6mn, while in the previous year it was of R$ 79.8mn.


BRAZIL: POWER STATION TENDER IN SANTA CATARINA
Gazeta Mercantil, 01 Mar 2000, p. a-9:-
 The government of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina is beginning a 
tender to select a company to conduct the construction of a 300 MW gas power 
station in the city of Joinville with investments of R$ 150mn.
Competitors must deliver proposals by March 15th 2000.  


BRAZIL: ELECTRICITY SHORTAGE RISK
O Estado de S.Paulo, 01 Mar 2000, p. b-1:-
 The Industries Federation of the Brazilian State of Sao Paulo (Fiesp) is 
worried about the risk of electricity shortage in the next months since rains 
are not being enough to restore water reservoirs of hydro power stations in 
the Brazilian Mid-South Region. And Fiesp believes the problem will be even 
worse in 2001. If the Brazilian economic growth is higher than expected, 
power supply may have problems.
The energy secretary of the state of Sao Paulo, Mauro Arce, says water 
reservoirs level will be less than 60% in April (the usual would be more than 
70%) but even so he does not expect problem with power supply in 2000 because 
new electricity generation projects powered by nuclear energy and thermal 
energy (which do not depend on rains) amounting to 4,200 MW are expected to 
begin to operate in 2000. But he says situation may be bad in 2001, since 
only between 1,300 MW and 1,400 MW new projects are expected to operate in 
that year and reservoirs may be lowered to 10% on average in December 2000, 
being necessary then intense rains to restore reservoirs after that.
The energy secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Mining and Energy, Benedito 
Carraro, says that it is still too soon to affirm that there will be problems 
with power supply in 2001 and water reservoirs and estimations for the next 
months and for 2001 will only be able to be analysed in April 2000.


MEXICO: FUTURE OF BUFETE
El Financiero (Mexico), 01 Mar 2000, online:-
 It is believed that Mexican construction company Iconsa is out of the 
running to take over administration of financially-troubled competitor Bufete 
Industrial, as Bufete's creditor banks are believed to have accepted the 
offer of a capital injection from US-based Enron. Creditor banks, including 
Serfin, Citibank and Santander, are expected to absorb part of Bufete's debt 
and to allow Enron to take over administration of the company.


BRAZIL: CSN MAY SELL SHARES OF LIGHT
O Estado de S.Paulo, 01 Mar 2000, p. b-12:-
 The president director of the Brazilian steel company CSN (Companhia 
Siderurgica Nacional), Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, informed that the company 
does not plan to acquire shares of the Brazilian electricity company Light 
which will be sold by BNDESPar (subsidiary of BNDES, the Brazilian National 
Bank for Economic and Social development) and it may even sell the shares of 
Light that CSN owns if there is a good proposal.