Anwil loses joint venture partner

One of the companies from the Korean SK Group, which was to sign a joint venture contract with Anwil, is in serious financial difficulty. This fall, Anwil is to construct a system to manufacture PET granules, which will have an annual production capacity of 120,000 tones. Over a year ago, the company signed an agreement concerning an investment worth $60 million with two Korean companies from the SK Group, SK Global and SK Chemikals, in order to form SK Eurochem to execute the project. "SK Global was to hold a 10% stake in the joint venture, but will have nothing," said the head of Anwil, Bernard Michewicz, who did not reveal whether this decision was a result of SK Global's creditors demand for its liquidation. "We have another partner with which we will continue the works. We have all the agreements, and the launching of the system is planned for late 2004/early 2005," added Michewicz. The company, however, will have to renegotiate the terms of a loan worth $40 million, which it received from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) A.K.