14050: (Arthur) Overseas Private Investment Corporation press release (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Overseas Private Investment Corporation press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2002

OPIC INSURANCE WILL HELP BUILD NEW HOTEL, WIRELESS NETWORK IN HAITI

$43 million in coverage for two projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Political risk insurance from the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) will enable two U.S. companies to help build a
four-star hotel in Haiti – the largest construction project ever undertaken
in the country – and to develop a nationwide wireless communications network
for the island, OPIC President and CEO Dr. Peter Watson announced today.

OPIC will provide $25 million in insurance to Harding Enterprises, Inc. of
Louisville, KY for the development of a new business hotel near Haiti
International Airport in Port-au-Prince. Managed by Hilton International
Company, the hotel will offer up to 288 room suites and eight extended stay
apartment units with meeting facilities, a business center, restaurants, a
gym and retail outlets. It will be Haiti’s only internationally branded
four-star business hotel.

The project is expected to generate 370 permanent local jobs and more than
$28 million in local procurement, as well as significant foreign exchange
from tourism and business travelers. Hilton will provide health care and
training programs for all hotel employees.

In the second project, OPIC will provide $18 million in insurance to the
Haitian affiliate of Western Wireless International Corporation (WWI) of
Bellevue, WA, for the continued expansion and operation of its nationwide
wireless-based communications network, providing cellular telephone, domestic
and international long distance services. The affiliate, Communication
Cellulaire d'Haiti (COMCEL), was awarded a license for the project in 1998
and launched services in 1999.

The cellular telephone system is operated with COMCEL’s own equipment and
connected to the public switched telephone network according to an agreement
with the company that operates the ground-based telephone network,
Telecommunications d’Haiti.

“These two projects will have important developmental benefits for Haiti, not
least by enabling the country to modernize its telecommunications and tourism
infrastructure, which in turn should serve as a basis for further economic
growth,” said Dr. Watson. “OPIC is pleased to work with two U.S. companies
that are contributing to Haiti’s economic development.”

OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps
U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and
emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated
with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because
OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a
self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

OPIC’s political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all
sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations
worldwide. Over the agency’s 30-year history, OPIC has supported $142 billion
worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate over
$11 billion in host-government revenues and create over 673,000 host-country
jobs. OPIC projects have also generated $64 billion in U.S. exports and
create more than 253,000 American jobs.

For further information, contact:
Lawrence Spinelli (202) 336-8690
Timothy Harwood (202) 336-8744

_______________________________________________

This email is forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group. I

See the Haiti Support Group web site:
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org

The Haiti Support Group - solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for
justice, participatory democracy and equitable development, since 1992.
____________________________________________