Hong Kong’s Noble Group to invest $450 million in Brazilian ethanol
In Hong Kong, Noble Group said it will invest $450 million in its Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol processing operations by 2011. Noble will increase capacity at its Votuporanga plant, to 5 million tons of cane (from 2 million), and will construct a new plant in Sao Paulo to crush an additional 5 million tons.
The company said that 80-percent of its output will be used to supply ethanol to the domestic Brazilian market. The Hong Kong-based company currently accounts for 10 percent of total Brazilian sugar cane processing.
In Brazil, ethanol production increased 20 percent in 2007, according to figures released by the the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. Consumption increased, according to a Ministry official, because 90 percent of all new cars sold in Brazil are flex-fuel vehicles. The Ministry projects that 20 new ethanol plants will come online in 2008.
Recently, Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras announced a slowdown in their expansion strategy as Japan struggles to expand ethanol demand. Earlier, the company had announced plans to build 20 ethanol plants in Brazil in cooperation with Mitsui. Now, the company is going ahead with only three pilot projects until Japan’s market growth rate becomes more clear.
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