Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 6, 1994 TAG: 9410120104
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - First Union Corp. wasted no time capitalizing on Nelson Mandela's appeal to invest in his nation, signing an agreement Wednesday to guarantee $10 million in loans for South African companies importing U.S. products.
``This reflects First Union's culture and its ability to be innovative and get in there quickly,'' said Andy Oleksiw, the bank's international managing director."
First Union, parent of Roanoke-based First Union National Bank of Virginia, established finance relationships with South African banks immediately after the U.S. government's sanctions were lifted in late 1993.
First Union teamed up with Nedbank, South Africa's third-largest banking group, for a $10 million credit-guarantee facility. Under the agreement, the Export-Import Bank of the United States will assume risk coverage for up to $10 million of First Union's medium-term loans to Nedbank.
The agreement reduces repayment risks, allowing First Union to offer better loan rates to foreign customers that work with U.S. exporters.
- Associated Press
Hillsville to get yarn-spinning plant
Parkdale Mills of Gastonia, N.C., said it will build a $170 million yarn-spinning plant in Hillsville that will create about 325 jobs.
Andrew Warlick, president of the Gastonia-based company, said the main factor in selecting Hillsville over DeKalb County, Ala., was cheaper electricity. The company had looked at sites throughout the Southeast.
Groundbreaking will take place almost immediately, he said. The plant is expected to open by the fall of 1995.
Parkdale Mills, one of the nation's largest producers of spun yarn for the apparel market, has more than 2,000 employees. The Virginia plant will be the company's first outside North Carolina.
- Associated Press
by CNB