Uruguay is becoming a growing option for Chilean business people and investors given the political climate and favorable economic scenario of the Mercosur member, while conditions in the Pacific nation are rapidly deteriorating under political stress and adverse conditions for business, according to Santiago economic media.
Chilean forestry company Arauco, a subsidiary of industrial conglomerate Empresas Copec SA, will invest US$185 million to build a new cellulose and textile pulp plant in the nation’s south, the company said on Thursday.
Uruguay officially inaugurated on Monday a second pulp mill, Montes del Plata, on the River Plate, belonging to Chile's Arauco and Swedish-Finnish Stora Enso, which is considered the largest single investment in the country and will have an annual production of 1.3 million tons.
Chile’s Arauco the forestry and pulp unit belonging to the Copec group, trebled profits in the first quarter boosted by higher international prices and sale volumes particularly pulp, according to the company’s latest financial report.
Chilean wood pulp producer Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion SA seeks to continue its regional expansion as it develops plans for a new pulp mill in Uruguay, Arauco's corporate director, Franco Bozzalla, said this week.