Mérida, February 2010.

COFIDES and SOFIEX, the Extremadura Agency for Industrial Promotion, organized a workshop for companies located in this region. The aim of the workshop was to provide further information about COFIDES financial products to companies that whish to expand their businesses abroad.

The workshop was held in the framework of the strategic commercial plan designed by COFIDES for 2010. The 2010 COFIDES commercial plan focuses on increasing the activities to promote COFIDES activity and financial products provided by COFIDES with its own shareholders’ equity and the resources of the State-owned Fund for Foreign Investment (FIEX) and Fund for SME Foreign Investment Operations (FONPYME), managed by COFIDES.

> SOFIEX (Sociedad de Fomento Industrial de Extremadura)

SOFIEX is an Investment Capital company that aids and assists viable business projects in Extremadura, providing financial support and a local partner to investors in all sectors.

The support provided by SOFIEX includes stockholder participation as a partner in business projects established in Extremadura. Since it was founded almost two decades ago in 1987, SOFIEX has developed 134 industrial projects in Extremadura, which provided employment for 10,800 people in the region.