Mercedes-Benz receives US$ 697.7 million from BNDES
O Estado de S. Paulo
Mercedes-Benz received yesterday the release of a R$ 1.2 billion (US$ 697.7 million) loan from the National Development Bank (BNDES) for the increase of the productive capacity of trucks and buses of the plant of São Bernardo do Campo, in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, and also for the development of new vehicles and cleaner engines. The amount is included in the program of investment of R$ 1.5 billion (US$ 872.1 million) announced by the maker for the 2009-2011 period. According to the BNDES, part of the investment in the increase of the production was already made last year and it consisted of the purchase of machinery and equipment manufactured in Brazil. The company increased its productive capacity in more than 20%, from 55 thousand to 67 thousand vehicles a year.
The invested funds, informed the BNDES, foresee the construction of three new buildings to house the activities of maintenance of machinery, manufacture of prototypes, final revision of trucks and manufacture of packaging. Altogether, the program foresaw the hiring of 1.9 thousand employees. The company informed it hired 1.3 thousand people in September, and it is selecting another 300 workers this month.
Last year, until September, the BNDES disbursed R$ 5 billion (US$ 2.9 billion) for companies of the Brazilian car industry, of a requested total of R$ 9.4 billion (US$ 5.5 billion). It is a record amount as shown in the report of the bank that lists the loan applications subsidized since 2003. Among the makers that have announced new investment plans at the end of last year, Renault has already informed that most of the R$ 1 billion (US$ 581.4 million) to be invested over the next three years should come from funds of the BNDES. General Motors is waiting for the release of the amount already requested to the Bank in order to conclude a R$ 2 billion (US$ 1.2 billion) program announced in July. As for Volkswagen, it has already informed it will apply for a loan with the BNDES for the R$ 6.2 billion (US$ 3.6 billion) project for the 2010-2014 period.