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• Capital Injected into Company that Develops and Produces Iodine in Republic of Chile- First Japanese business enterprise to acquire new source in Chile to provide supplies for increasing global demand for iodine -

Capital Injected into Company that Develops and Produces Iodine in Republic of Chile
- First Japanese business enterprise to acquire new source in Chile to provide supplies for increasing global demand for iodine -

2010-05-26

Toyota Tsusho Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "Toyota Tsusho"; Headquarters: Nagoya City; President: Junzo Shimizu) in partnership with ACF Minera S.A., injected capital into an iodine manufacturing company in the Republic of Chile, Algorta Norte S.A. (hereinafter referred to as "ANSA"). Construction work for the manufacturing plant started from May 2010 in the State of Antofagasta in the Republic of Chile. The targeted date for the start of operation is 2011.

1. Background and purpose for capital injection in ANSA
At the present time, Toyota Tsusho invests in manufacturing companies that produce iodine in Japan and the United States, as well as manufacturing companies that produce iodine compounds in the United States. Toyota Tsusho sells about 2,000 metric tons of iodine annually, primarily in the United States and Europe.
Iodine is a resource that is more unevenly distributed than rare earth metals, with region suitable for large scale development limited to the Republic of Chile, Japan and the United States. Furthermore, increased production is difficult in Japan due to the problem of ground subsidence, whereas in the United States, the amount of deposits is limited. ?
On the other hand, the annual growth of the market in emerging nations, such as China and India, where primary applications of iodine occur, is expected in the future to reach 5% in the pharmaceutical field (where it is used as an imaging agent for x-ray and disinfectants, etc.). Therefore, an urgent need exists to secure a new source of iodine in order to respond to such growth in demand.
The policy of Toyota Tsusho is to increase the company's global share of market for iodine, which is a market with a scale of approximately 28,000 metric tons, from the current 7% to 15% by 2016, through capital injection into this major business development project. It is also the policy of the company to take this opportunity to facilitate growth of the iodine compound manufacturing company that they currently own.
Furthermore, by securing a new source of iodine in the Republic of Chile, Toyota Tsusho not only expects to increase the company's iodine sales but also hopes to develop new businesses through the creation of value chains by participating in downstream industries in the pharmaceutical field, etc.

2. Corporate summary of ANSA
Company name: Algorta Norte S.A.
Headquarters location: Las Condes, Santiago de Chile, the Republic of Chile
Mining property location: Baquedano in the State of Antofagasta
Capital:   US$73 million (approximately JPY6.6 billion)
Representative officer: Mr. Luis de Urruticoechea-Echevarria
Number of employees: 100 (planned)
Composition of shareholders: Inversiones Mineral Norte S.A., as well as other companies: 74.5%, Toyota Tsusho: 25.5%
Main business lines: Development of iodine mine, as well as production and sale of iodine (with ownership of iodine mining site)

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