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Bernardo Larraín Matte's Proposal for Forest Investment to Grow Again in Chile

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The last shareholders' meeting of Luis Felipe Gazitúa as president of Empresas CMPC featured, in the front row, Bernardo Matte Larraín and his sister Patricia, both members of the controlling family of the paper company. Also present was the latter's son, Bernardo Larraín Matte, who took over as the new leader of the company.

Of the Matte Larraín siblings, only Eliodoro was absent, but the former president of CMPC was mentioned in the farewell and gratitude speech delivered by Gazitúa. He also thanked Bernardo Matte, with whom he has worked for nearly 30 years and whom he replaced as president of Bicecorp, and "Manano" (Bernardo Larraín), who until yesterday accompanied him as vice president of CMPC.

After the shareholders' meeting, the newly renewed board of the paper company briefly convened—where Bernardo Larraín was elected as chairman. Following this, the new leader, along with CMPC's general manager, Francisco Ruiz-Tagle, spoke to the press on the fourth floor of the company's building on Agustinas Street in downtown Santiago.

The still uncertain impact of the trade war, plans in Brazil, and investments for this year were some of the topics Bernardo Larraín addressed. But he also, when asked by "El Mercurio," discussed what Chile needs for forest investment to grow. The main Chilean players in this sector are driving multi-million-dollar plans in Brazil.

The Measures

Larraín commented that "the area of plantations has stagnated or even declined, and the availability of long-fiber wood is scarcer... Theoretically, Chile could be competitive and invest again in sawmills, even pulp plants—those are major undertakings because they require much larger areas, but obviously, there isn't enough wood availability. Here, I mainly refer to lands owned by smallholders who, for obvious reasons, lack incentives to replant. I mean, in a place threatened by violence, obviously, no one is planting."

Regarding the conditions the country needs to become attractive for investments again, he noted that "the general conditions for any sector are needed: security, which is also linked to the spread of wildfires—that's the first element. And second, some countries have adopted public policies for small forest owners to give them more incentives to plant. That doesn't exist in Chile, but it's starting to be mentioned."

Larraín added, "You look at lithium mining, copper mining, the forestry industry, salmon farming—these are things the world is demanding. Chile has an opportunity to grow in these industries, to invest much more, but that depends on public policies and also the issue of 'permitting...'"

Investments

This year, CMPC plans to invest around $700 million, half of which would be in Brazil, where it is preparing its $4.5 billion Natureza pulp project. Of this year's figure, $220 million is for pulp industrial operations, another $280 million for plantations and increasing forest availability in Brazil—including Natureza—$65 million for packaging, and $120 million for Softys.

Source:El Mercurio