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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (30889)	1/6/2009 7:21:23 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 194001

Codelco profits to fund $1bn capitalisation miningweekly.com By: Reuters Published on 6th January 2009 Updated 7 hours ago SANTIAGO - Chile's Codelco, the world's No. 1 copper producer, said on Tuesday its 2008 profits would fund a $1-billion capital injection included in a new $4 billion government anti-crisis stimulus plan. Jose Pablo Arellano, Codelco's CEO, said the state revenue engine was sticking to plans for $2 billion worth of investment in 2009 and that the company would also seek financing for mining projects on international markets. "The $1 billion capitalization will come from profits made in 2008," Arellano told a news conference. Codelco made a profit of $4.86 billion for the Jan-Sept period in 2008, down 28 percent from the same period a year earlier. "(The money) is destined to help finance investments that Codelco plans for this year," he added. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet unveiled the government's $4 billion stimulus package late on Monday. The plan aims to boost Chile's sagging domestic demand and increase productive capacity, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said on Tuesday. The stimulus package, which aims to create 100,000 jobs, will increase public spending by nearly $1.5 billion deprive the state of a similar amount in fiscal income. It will be funded from around $21 billion worth of copper windfall earnings saved in sovereign wealth funds, as well as via bond issuance. Strong prices, driven by limited supplies and booming Asian demand, helped push Chile's trade surplus to record levels in recent years. But the price of the metal has plunged on world markets in recent months, prompting the central bank to scale back its economic growth forecasts. Copper prices have more than halved since record levels of over $4 per lb in July as the global slowdown hit demand. Arellano said last month prices for copper, Chile's main export, would stabilize only when the global financial crisis eases. A Codelco official said on Tuesday the company's 2009 sales campaign in Asia, which was conducted during the final quarter of 2008, had been satisfactory and that it had won market share.