Kimberly-Clark invests in Peru after trade pact

LIMA, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB.N) said on Monday it will pour $60 million into Peru, becoming the first big U.S. company to say it will expand here since Peru signed a free-trade pact with the United States in December.

The maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissue will double production in the Andean country by adding onto existing plants.

Peru will become a regional center, supplying Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador, said Blanca Aquino, the company's general director in Peru.

Like many U.S. consumer-products companies, Kimberly-Clark has been hit by rising costs for materials and fuel. The weak U.S. dollar, which boosts the value of overseas sales, has somewhat offset that hit.

The company has been cutting costs and is expanding in developing and emerging markets.

Peru's economy, one of the fastest growing in the world, grew some 8.5 percent last year. It has been growing for six years. (Reporting by Teresa Cespedes and Dana Ford, Writing by Dana Ford, Editing by Carol Bishopric)