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To: long-gone who wrote (27019)	1/25/1999 7:55:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116837

Italian gold manufacturer set to invest in SA Stephen Laufer BASSANO DEL GRAPPA - The world's second-largest gold jewellery manufacturer by volume, Gruppo Industriale Filk, will invest in SA if government goes ahead with a plan to purchase 40 light utility helicopters from Italy's Agusta. It is understood that the departments of trade and industry, finance and defence and all of the preferred suppliers are being urged to complete negotiations on SA's R29bn arms-for-investment package by the end of March. Guarantees are being sought from all bidders regarding the value and diversity of their defence and civilian investments in SA. Agusta said late last week that if final tender negotiations on the arms-for-investment package were successful, it also planned to give SA arms manufacturer Denel a licence to build and market its new single-engined eight-seater civilian helicopter, the Koala. Denel would probably gain rights for the African and some Far Eastern markets. An SA defence industry analyst said the Koala deal would be a significant step for Denel into the civilian market and could be crucial to the company's long-term viability, as defence spending was sinking worldwide. The company faces privatisation, with British Aerospace and SA empowerment groups expected to take significant stakes. Gold beneficiation was among 22 desired investment areas identified by the SA department of trade and industry in connection with the arms procurement package. The department has told bidders not to disclose details of proposed investment volumes or job creation numbers connected to specific projects. Filk founder and CE Pietro Cremasco said the gold chain manufacturer hoped to be operational in SA by the end of this year. The company could concentrate production of its hand-assembled bracelets in SA. It was "only scratching the surface" of international demand for hand-assembled bracelets. With a total annual output of 30 tons of a wide variety of gold chains, Filk employs 35 people in bracelet assembly. Cremasco said this was insufficient as world demand was rising. SA offered several advantages over Italy for an expansion of production. Its growing tourist and domestic markets were attractive, as were the lower wages paid in SA. A shortage of skilled labour in northern Italy, where gold jewellery manufacturing is concentrated, meant the company had to move abroad to expand. Backed by the Italian government, the prospective Agusta deal gave Filk sufficient confidence to seriously plan moving abroad for the first time. Besides investing in machinery, Filk would train SA workers in all aspects of production. bday.co.za