Brazilian, Japanese Firms Form Alliance

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--ETH Bioenergia, the sugar and ethanol unit of the Brazilian group Odebrecht, has formed an alliance with a Sojitz Corporation, a Japanese trading company, which has acquired 33.3% shares of Odebrecht. The companies aim to accelerate the expansion of Odebrecht's sugarcane and alcohol business in Brazil and abroad.

"We consider this partnership a strategic association once Sojitz has a high performance in the agriculture commodities distribution", ETH President Clayton Hygino Miranda said. An investment figure has not yet been released. Brazilian company Petrobras also has a partnership with a Japanese firm, Mitsui, to construct an alcohol plant, but a contract has not yet been signed. Sojitz (Tokyo) has been in Brazil since 2004. The trading company works in the agriculture, textile, energy, mineral, chemical and plastics sectors.

Miranda also said Odebrecht has an operational plant in Sao Paulo and seven "Greenfields" under construction, along with plans to make heavy investments in logistics, which will include cooperation for alcohol pipeline construction and in dock terminals. The company has $5 billion in savings to invest in the sector, 60% of which has already invested. During the last week of October, Odebrecht group announced a $1.05 billion investment for the construction of three plants in Mato Grosso do Sul State in Brazil. The group had announced a similar contribution for the construction of three plants in Goias Sate, Brazil. For more information, view related October 8, 2007, article - Odebrecht to Invest $1.05 Billion in Three Ethanol Plants in Brazil's Goias. The group intends to process about 30 million tons of cane in west central Brazil in the next five years.

Odebrecht is a Latin American leader in the engineering, construction, chemical and petrochemical fields with investments in alcohol plants outside of Brazil, as well. The group confirmed the construction of an alcohol plant in Angola through Norberto Odebrecht constructor, along with Sanangol, Angola's state petroleum company and investors in the African country.

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