President Hugo Chavez’s government said Wednesday it will immediately pay cement maker Lafarge SA 40 per cent of the agreed-upon purchase price for its Venezuelan subsidiaries nationalized last year.

The government will pay Lafarge the money, which amounts to US$118.5m, within the next five days, Infrastructure Minister Diosdado Cabello said.

Cabello said in July that Venezuela had agreed to pay Lafarge and a second cement maker, Holcim Ltd., 40 per cent of the purchase price of each company’s subsidiaries - a total of US$378m - and that the rest would be paid over four years, without interest.

Lafarge said at the time that it was still in talks with Venezuela and had no indication of when it would be paid. Holcim Switzerland, also denied reaching a deal with the government.

Forbes.com

Published under Cement News