Ilim Group, a Russian pulp producer half-owned by International Paper Co., plans to spend $270 million by 2014 to start producing chalk-coated paper at its mill in the Arkhangelsk region, a company official told Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Ilim plans to produce 150,000 tons of office paper and 70,000 tons of chalk-coated paper, it said. Chalk-coated paper, used to print books and magazines, is now almost fully imported.
It will be possible to restore a 15 percent import duty on this category of paper, compared with the 5 percent in place now, to support domestic production, Putin said.
(Bloomberg)