Word: anacondas
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...respect for the due process of law. That assessment has proved correct, if a bit too sanguine. While giving conscientious attention to democracy and legality, Allende has nonetheless been expropriating American holdings almost as fast as he can. In July, he announced the nationalization of the mining interests of Anaconda, Kennecott and Cerro-but only after a constitutional amendment permitting the takeover had been duly introduced, debated and passed unanimously by the legislature. The amendment also provided for compensation based on the book value of the mines...
...Last week Allende announced that Chile will deduct $774 million in "excess profits" from the compensation due to Anaconda and Kennecott (Cerro's mine began production only last year). In effect, that means that the two companies will receive not a penny for their properties. The $774 million figure was arrived at through a complex formula. The Allende administration estimated each company's average worldwide copper profits over the past 15 years as a percentage of its book value and came up with a figure of 10%. Any profits from the company's Chilean operation that exceeded...
...Allende has somehow computed Kennecott's alleged excess profits over the past 15 years to be more than our total earnings from Chile in that period," complained Kennecott President Frank Milliken, whose firm has been a particularly good corporate citizen in Chile. Said Anaconda President John Place: "Allende's accounting theory is nothing more than a thin pretext for confiscation. He's now contrived to grab the world's biggest open-pit copper mine [Anaconda's Chuquicamata], plus a second major underground mine, and not pay a dime...
...Letter of the Law. Kennecott, which has $141 million in Chilean investments, relied on them for about 11% of its net income last year. Anaconda, with $458 million invested, received about two-thirds of its net profits from Chile. The companies may need a special ruling from the Internal Revenue Service to take tax write-offs on the losses, but they may be able to collect on as much as half their losses from the Overseas Private Investment Corp., a Government agency that insures investments abroad. If President Allende continues to pursue his intention of turning Chile's resources...
...emotional speech last week, Allende charged that Anaconda and Kennecott had done everything possible to damage the economy of the nation. Nonetheless, most observers believe that Allende is too pragmatic to risk the kind of bitterness that could follow if the companies are denied fair compensation, and will finally consent to a settlement approaching $1 billion. Only recently Chile negotiated agreements with four U.S. companies on terms that proved much more favorable than had been anticipated...