News
To the Public Opinion
Given the situation faced by the company and the Executive Chairman of the Board, Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) points out:
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To the Public Opinion
- Until now there is no official knowledge of the assumptions that have led to these actions, which affect the normal development of the operations of a company that holds 20 thousand direct jobs, generates another 80 thousand indirect and is the heart of an extensive mining-steel chain, with fundamental weight in the economy of the state of Coahuila and other states.
- Neither the company nor in particular, the Executive Chairman of its Board have incurred in the diversity of assumptions that are deduced from journalistic statements made by different government officials.
- Basically, in the case of the acquisition by Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) of the Agro Nitrogenados Company, it should be pointed out that it was an operation that fulfilled all the supervision and control requirements established by the internal regulations of PEMEX and its companies and the Mexican State.
- Agro Nitrogenados is not reduced to an urea plant, it is a petrochemical complex made up of 4 plants that generate different fertilizers, which also has storage warehouses, storage and processing yards, and a maritime dock, the main one of Pajaritos Industrial Complex.
- The company stopped operations in 1999, when, like all Mexican fertilizer producers, it was severely affected by the uncontrolled entry of products from abroad, with subsidized prices and dumping.
- During the years out of production, the warehouses, yards and docks continued to operate in third-party services, generating the necessary resources to support basic maintenance of the productive units.
- At the time in mid-2013 when Petróleos Mexicanos proposed the acquisition of Agro Nitrogenados to support the National Food Plan, the urea plants were subject to a rehabilitation program aimed at returning the operation due to the favorable international prices of the natural gas.
- To this end, Altos Hornos de México negotiated with PEMEX to acquire one of the ammonia plants was out of operations at the Cosoleacaque complex, in order to directly produce the main urea input and avoid the transfer price. The negotiation was reversed at the request of PEMEX to buy Agro Nitrogenados.
- Facing the purchase offer, AHMSA proposed other options: a joint venture, an APP (Private Public Association), to process the fertilizer for the company created by PEMEX. In all cases, the response was negative and insistence on the total transfer of assets was insisted.
- In the framework of Petróleos Mexicanos regulations and the acquisitions of the Federal Government, the preparation of the purchase-sale required the participation of different technical and administrative teams of PEMEX and AHMSA, a process perfectly documented and sanctioned by all control authorities, including the Public Function Ministry.
- The conditions of the plants and facilities were inspected by Petróleos Mexicanos technical personnel.
- The overall value of the transaction was set at 275 million dollars, based on the valuation that in compliance with the PEMEX regulations requested the Institute of Administration and Valuation of National Assets (INDAABIN). AHMSA had requested two independent valuations that marked higher values for the business unit. As of today, PEMEX still retains without justification the payment of 5 million dollars.
- The amounts paid by Petróleos Mexicanos to AHMSA were deposited in the treasury, complying with all the tax formalities and with the payment of the corresponding taxes, as certified by the external auditors of the company and recorded by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit.
- PEMEX and different Government entities have all the documentation related to the case. Neither AHMSA nor its Executive Chairman have received any official consultation or have been summoned to appear before any authority in relation to the sale of Agro Nitrogenados and the company reiterates its total willingness to deliver the information officially required.
- Altos Hornos of Mexico considers totally unjustified the decision to block its banking operations since last Monday, disproportionate measure, which caused severe damage to the company, and in its case unnecessary, because the authority is well aware by which accounts entered payments of PEMEX.
- We have full and absolute certainty that the financial operations of Altos Hornos de México are carried out under the company's code of ethics and with the strictest control standards. This is certified by the internal and external auditors, and by the reviews that the SHCP performs as a Major Taxpayer. There is no irregular financial transaction of AHMSA or the Chairman of the Board.
- It has been pointed out to the media that regarding the purchase by PEMEX of Agro Nitrogenados, a judicial investigation was carried out since last March. Never in this lapse, neither the company nor the Chairman of the Board received any consultayions or calls to appear or explain any situation.
- The Executive Chairman of the Board, Alonso Ancira, was engaged in a public and open business life in Mexico. Last Thursday, at the Annual Assembly of the CANACERO (Nation Iron and Steel Chamber) , he was appointed Vice President of the institution, spoke with senior officials of the current Federal Government and after the meeting he began his trip first to the United States and later to Spain, in order to fulfill family commitments.
- At the time of his arrest in Spain, he undertook the return to Mexico with the necessary technical scale in American territory. His intention, and so he told AHMSA executives in previous communications, was to ensure the operational continuity of the company before the surprise blockade of their bank accounts and resolve this situation with the authorities. He was never hidden or running away, as baseless has been argued.
- Facing these absolutely anomalous situations, Altos Hornos de México will assert before the courts of justice all the legal resources available for its defense and that of the Chairman of its Board, in the assurance that apart from any other interest or connotation the presumption of innocence, the law and due process must prevail.
- Those of us who make up the team of 20,000 workers, who give life to the main mining-steel chain in the country, confirm our commitment to Mexico and today focus our efforts on guaranteeing the normal operation of AHMSA and its companies.