BIG COMPANY WATCH.

                             BIG COMPANY WATCH
                   Latin American Sales in US$ millions
                           as of Sept. 30, 2000.
                    % CHANGE
                  IIIQ99/IIIQ00      Percent of
Company            SALES IIIQ00      total sales
% CHANGE
IIIQ99/IIIQ00
REPSOL-YPF             868      72.4    63.2
ERICSSON             1,204      46.4    17.3
COCA-COLA              560      20.9    10.1
AVON                   468      15.1    34.9
KELLOGG                166      10.1     9.0
GOODYEAR [1]           258      10.0     8.4
UNILEVER             1,220       8.3    10.4
MCDONALD'S             456       5.6     4.3
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE      621       4.5    26.2
PRAXAIR [2]            182       2.2    14.3
WHIRLPOOL              414      -4.2    16.1
CATERPILLAR [3]        348      -8.0     7.8
NOTES: (1.)Tire sales only.
(2.)South American sales.
(3.)Machinery and engine sales only.
SOURCES: Company reports, LATIN TRADE.

DEAR SHAREHOLDER...

[up arrow] REPSOL-YPF

Higher crude oil prices keep this company strong, although a fall in demand and a hiatus on oil exploration in Argentina's southern fields--thanks to an exceptionally cold winter--were setbacks. Repsol-YPF is working to slash debt as it buys up other companies in a frenzied five-year push for growth in all its operations.

[up arrow] AVON

Led by Mexico, Latin America saw a 15% increase in beauty product sales for the quarter, helping to offset the ongoing slide in Argentina. "We're confident we can achieve our stated target for the year of low- to mid-teens growth in earnings per share," promised Avon CEO Andrea Jung.

[left arrow] CATERPILLAR

As a pancake. That's how flat revenues will be for Caterpillar in the months ahead. Latin American sales are inching up--especially in Brazil and Mexico--but not enough to make a difference. "The third quarter was a challenging one, especially considering the continued strength of the dollar and softness in key markets," says CEO Glen Barton.