Chile promoting N.Z. interests

Press, 26 April 1988, Page 7

Chile promoting N.Z. interests

By

TONY VERDON

in London

New Zealand- interests in .Chile's forestry industry are being used by the Chilean Government in its world wide drive to attract foreign investment. [ Fletcher Challenge bought a 50 per [cent share m a Chilean forestry! company and.. newsprint mill r. 1986. and it has the option of increasing its stake to IO‘J. per cent. ! The company's chief executive. [ Mr Hugh Fletcher, [has suggested there will [be further investment |in the South American [forestry industry by his company, in spite of widespread criticism of General Augusto Pinochet's [ human nghts recorc. In an attempt to qntice more foreign companies to! invest [ in Chile.), the Government is producing regular bulletins promoting the country in the latest published by tne Chilean Embassy in London, the Government says! significant advances have taken [plate in the last, year to "better protect and guarantee human nghts." ,The republic's Government also [says 1: is wqi'kmg towards the re-estab-lishment of democratic Institutions. fend has allowed the press [to report more

freely. The , Pinochet regime says that stimulating forest plantation hds been a policy since) 1971. and as a result there has been a spectacular [growth in the planting of radiata pine. "Natural [conditions in Chile permit this pine to grew much faster [than in other wood-producing countries and attain maturity in less than 23 years." says the bulietcr, [ "However,, ims strong increase in j forest plantation will represent a challenge in the) coming years. The substantial growth in marketable! vo ume will require ven.' considerable investment.]' The paper says the supply of sawn’radiata pine is expected to increase almost mreefola by the year 2000.1 tcialling an average of 13 million cubic metres a year in the period 1993 to 2000. Attracted by this growth rale of radiata pine in Chiiie. businessmen from New, Zealand, the world's major’ producers of this type of wood, are already inyestfng heavily in Chile." bays the bulletin. It says that an estimated 5L'53127 [million will have to be invested between now arid the year 2063 to exploH the volume of timber available for harvest in'Chile.