AVIANCA Bent on Leading Latin America´s Aviation Industry

AVIANCA´s top shareholder, Bolivian-Brazilian entrepreneur German Efromovich, announced this week his intention of turning the Colombian carrier into the number-one air company in Latin America.

AVIANCA, that walked out of Chapter 11 recently, will be renamed Aerovias del Continente Americano (ACA) sometime in the first half of 2005, Mr. Efromovich told news organizations this weekend.

As owner of the Sinergy Group, the proprietor of Brazilian regional airline OceanAir, Mr. Efromovich holds three quarters of AVIANCA´s stocks, while the remaining 25 percent is in the hands of the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Planters (FEDECAFE is the Spanish acronym).