Furukawa Industrial S.A. Produtos Electricos

MIGA has issued a $5 million guarantee covering a shareholder loan made by Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., to Furukawa Industrial S.A. Produtos Electricos in Brazil. MIGA's guarantee covers the loan against the risks of transfer restriction and expropriation of funds. Furukawa owns several cable manufacturing facilities in Brazil. The loan covers the expansion, modernization, and enhancement of the company's facility, one of the most modern manufacturing facilities for telephone, electronic, and optic cables in the country.

The loan will enhance the company's ability to support the ongoing improvement of Brazil's information technology infrastructure through the use of fiber optic technology by providing faster and inexpensive data communication links. Along with creating technology transfer opportunities, the project will increase the number of Internet service providers, multimedia service operators, and voice communication service providers, leading to wider Internet access in the country. An estimated 70 percent of the raw materials used in production of the fiber will be purchased locally.