WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 20 /PRNewswire/Asianet/ -- "Oxbow International Power Corporation has been invited by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to negotiate the final contracts for the Quang Ninh Power Project," announced Oxbow President Bernard H. Cherry. This project will be the largest American investment in Vietnam since the normalization of relations in 1994, and marks the third major international success for Oxbow in less than a year. Oxbow has received letters of interest in the project from several important international financial sources including International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank. Formal negotiations begin on Friday, June 21 in Hanoi. Following a two year competition with several other major international energy developers, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), Vietnam's state utility, announced June 17, 1996 that Oxbow had been selected as the party with whom the government would negotiate on the Quang Ninh Project, the first Build-Operate-Transfer project in Vietnam's energy sector. "This project is an excellent opportunity for us to expand our activities in one of the fastest-growing markets in Asia, and builds on our recent success in China and the Philippines," said Cherry. "By incorporating state-of-the-art, coal-burning, Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized Bed technology in the Quang Ninh plant, Oxbow will help ensure that Vietnam's electricity needs will be met in the most low-cost and environmentally sensitive manner possible," he added. "Our approach further benefits Vietnam by utilizing coal not suitable for export. This leaves the more high-quality coal available for export and will help the Vietnamese balance of trade." "The Quang Ninh project is a significant achievement for Oxbow because it expands our global reach to another country. This project allows Oxbow to continue ten years of steady growth in the supply of clean, reliable electric power." Quang Ninh marks the third major international success for Oxbow in less than a year. In June 1995, Oxbow closed financing on a 47 MW geothermal plant on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. That project is currently under construction. In addition, early this year, Oxbow received approval from China's State Planning Commission for their 2 X 300 MW Wenzhou Project. Oxbow has been represented in Vietnam by Viet American Corporation (VACO), a consulting firm headquartered in California. The Oxbow International Power Corporation is an affiliate of the Oxbow Group, a closely-held energy and minerals conglomerate owned principally by William I. Koch. Oxbow Power develops, acquires, owns and operates independent power plants. Oxbow employs people worldwide and has offices in Florida, Hong Kong, Manila, Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Vancouver, Canada. CONTACT: United States: Cyndra Perez, or Carole McLeod, 316-263-4694; or Asia: Tim Bauer, 852-2869-1363/