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March 14, 2013 • 8:48 am 1

Latin America: Investors News Letter 14 March 2013

Top Ranking Banks in Latin America
After a decade of unusual success, the LatAm banking sector has slowed its growth
The year 2011 closed with disturbing news. Banco Santander decided to sell its subsidiary in Colombia, which finally Chile’s Corp Group bought for US$1.225 million. At the time, the chairman of Santander, Emilio Botin, said the measure was taken to “strengthen the balance sheet” of the crestfallen Spanish giants. As he explained, “Our market share in commercial banking in Colombia is far from the 10% which we aspired to get in the markets where we operate.” …

LatAm Hedge Fund Experts Weigh In
On the Current Political and Economic Context
Though 2011 and 2012 have been strong years for LatAm hedge funds, particularly relative to other regions, the political and Workings macroeconomic context in which local managers are investing has been fraught with complicated developments.  For instance, the slowdown in China has affected commodities markets, the lifeblood of many of the region …

Investors Ditch Brazil For Mexico, Colombia

Gramercy Adds to Latin America Private Equity Investment Team

IFC Invests $100M in Energy for Caribbean, Latin America

Brazil

2013 Oil & Gas Industry Perspectives  Brazil
Brazil is heralded as the largest and most significant new oil and gas prospect of the last few decades. However, there is still a long way to go to realize the promise of a new non-OPEC stable source of supply in the top 5 world oil producers by 2020. Progress toward this ambitious target has been slow in the last year, as project development, execution and political risks have taken their toll …

Brazil Real Drops on Speculation Credit Rating May Be Lowered

First meetings on Guyana-Brazil infrastructure project begins

Paraná green lights process to start Paranaguá port infrastructure works in Brazil

ETF investors avoid Brazil

Brazil Seeks Recipe to Attract Investors at Lower Cost

Brazil May Be Next Health-Care Frontier for Global Investors

Troubled Brazil fund Laep to sell 40 mln new shares-filing

BTG Pactual shuts macro hedge fund to new money

Argentina

Argentina Is Replaying Another Inflationary Collapse

Mining investment in Argentina grows 72% despite risky business climate

Fernandez Angers Investors While Ducking Argentine Austerity

Colombia

Foreign direct investment in Colombia seen down in 2013

Chile

Top LatAm selector on working Chile’s red tape

Banchile builds with Fidessa’s sell-side trading platform and connectivity network

Costa Rica

Costa Rica Constructing $96M Oil Terminal

Peru
Peru announces major upgrade to Lima’s water infrastructure

Peru’s Private Pension Funds Want Higher External Investment Limit

Qatar “looks favorably upon” investment-friendly Peru

Peru’s Private Pension Funds Want Higher External Investment Limit

Velarde Says Peru May Allow Pension Funds to Invest More Abroa

Venezuela

Venezuela to Create New Parallel Exchange Rate, Ramirez Says

Venezuela will establish a new parallel exchange rate as it seeks to crack down on a black market in which the dollar is worth about four times more than the official rate, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said.

Filed under: Argentina, Banking, Brazil, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 19, 2013 • 1:08 am 0

Latin America: Investor News Letter 18 January 2013

Mexico
Mexican Peso Slides on Carstens Hint at Interest-Rate ReductionMexico’s peso fell the most in four weeks after central bankers signaled that a further slowdown in inflation could prompt them to lower interest rates.
Nieto seeks to open Mexican energy sector
Los Tres Amigos: Positioning Your Portfolio In Mexican Peso Denominated Deb
Most U.S. funds missed Mexico gains, Brazil drop in 2012
Japanese investments in Mexico steady
Region completes work on international infrastructure project with Mexico

Brazil
Brazil’s Real Declines on Inflow Concern; Swap Rates Climb
Brazil: Daylight piracy
“SQUEEGEE merchants of the seas”: that is the nickname shipping companies have bestowed on the pilots who guide ships into Brazilian ports. Their legal monopoly and unregulated fees place them among the country’s highest earners: 150,000 reais ($73,500) a month, estimates the shipowners’ association. It costs twice the OECD average to import a container to Brazil, says the World Bank—and since that excludes bribes and fees for go-betweens, the true figure is surely greater.
Brazil Seeks Private Partners to Operate Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte Airports
Brazil announces regional airport infrastructure investment plans
Brazil aviation faces turbulence after rapid ascent
Brazil ports starved of investment, buried in red tape-group
Guyana, Brazil sign on to infrastructure plan
Brazilian municipality of São Bernardo do Campo to improve sustainable urban mobility with loan from IDB

Latin America
Argentina: Tax & Estate Planning
Argentina rapidly changing oil/gas industry levies to attract foreign investment
Bolivia takes over Spanish-owned Iberdrola energy suppliers
Colombia: ANI to launch four new public infrastructure concessions valued at US$1.95bn
Colombian Peso Advances on Foreign Investment Outlook
Chile: First Solar Stakes Claim in Latin America
Peru’s investment opportunities attracts Qatar’s firms Peru: Infrastructure gap put at $88bn
Peru-based AFPs invest over US$3.5bln in infrastructure
Cement Industry Figures In Peru: Btg Pactual Begins Coverage Of Cpac With A Buy Recommendation
Peru to invest over US$701mln in access infrastructure projects
Peru: Ezentis shifts focus to Latin America, helped by $64M Telefónica Peru contract
Peruvian entrepreneurs expect investment to continue growing in 2013
Venezuela: What Hugo Chavez’s Illness Means for Venezuelan Mining

Latin America and Caribbean PhotoVoltaic Demand Growing 45% Annually Out To 2017 
Latin American ports record strong performance in 2012
South America: A Powerhouse, Not a Circus
10 Latin American startups to look out for in 2013

Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Energy & Environment, Japan, Latin America, Mexico, News, Peru, Risk Management, Venezuela, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 3, 2012 • 1:11 am 0

Latin America: Investor News Letter 2 November 2012

MEXICO

Mexico 2013 inflation view steady despite price spike
Credit Suisse Raises $420 Million to Create Mexico Fund
Mexico: Big investment for citrus producers
Indigenous Groups Protest Mexico’s Biggest Wind-Energy Project
FOX BUSINESS – Mexican fishermen and indigenous groups from the southern state of Oaxaca protested Wednesday in front of the Mexico City offices of participants in a wind-energy project that would be one of the largest ever in Latin America, targeting Coca-Cola bottler and convenience-store operator Femsa (FMX), the Inter-American Development Bank and the Danish government, among others.

BRAZIL

The Brazilian Law on Money Laundering
Precautions Investors Must Take when Investing in Brazil. Brazil has recently altered its money laundering law. The new bill has tightened the government’s grip on most of the investment operations and has significantly broadened financial institutions’ and investment brokers’ duties to report suspicious activities …

ThyssenKrupp Brazil mill fined for pollution, could face closure
The long, brutal haul from farm to port in Brazil
Brazil hit by new blackout, infrastructure in spotlight
Brazil Gives Tax Exemption to Foreign Mortgage Investors
Brazil Power Generators Ask to Renew 106 of 123 Concessions

LATIN AMERICA

Private Aviation takes off in Latin America
The growth of private wealth in LatAm has led to a rise in demand for private aircraft and private aviation services. For the region’s mounting numbers of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, a plane can be purely a luxury item, of course; but for increasingly global and mobile professionals and business owners, it meets a demand unsatisfied by local transportation alternatives, as well .

Colombia Regulators Seize Interbolsa Brokerage on Funding

Colombia’s financial regulators seized Interbolsa SA’s brokerage, the country’s largest, after the company said it faces a “temporary” funding shortage.

 Latin America stocks rise on China, U.S. data
20 Latin American in the World’s 200 Richest People
Argentina bonds close lower after S&P downgrade
Argentina Plans Regulatory Overhaul to Spur Investments
Increase in pension fund investments makes for headwinds in Andean market
Colombia Equity Fund targets European countries for distribution
Protests in Peru Scaring Off Mining Investment, Government Responds With Social Programs
Honduran supreme court rejects idea of building independently governed ‘model cities’
CAF and OFIC ink agreement to promote energy efficiency projects in Latin America
Modern airport terminal to be opened in Bogota
IDB approves $200m financing for Latin America hydro plant

Filed under: Argentina, Asia, Banking, Brazil, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Latin America, Mexico, News, Peru, Risk Management, Wealth Management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 19, 2012 • 9:57 pm 0

Latin America: Investor News Letter 19.October 2012

Mexico

Elektra to offer No-Fee Banking and Long Term loans to US low income population
Billionaire Ricardo Salinas said he wants to offer no-fee banking deposits and longer-term loans to low-income U.S. consumers, aiming to export his Mexico business model, successful in 8 Latin American countries to the world’s biggest economy.

Mexico’s market shines as reforms, confidence take hold
NYSE Technologies, Bolsa Mexicana and ATG build Mexican trading infrastructure
Slim-backed Mexican firm plans IPO, new cement company
Alsea to invest $110 million in Mexico, Argentina Starbucks cafes
Mexico passes law to combat cartel money laundering

Brazil

Itau Sinks as Rousseff Plan Hurts Bank Profits: Corporate Brazil

Brazil’s push to drive down consumer borrowing costs is eroding the value of its biggest banks.

Brazil wants to restrict strikes in public sector
Monsanto suspends collection of royalties in Brazil following state court ruling
Brazil M&A hits five-year low on turmoil, state intervention
Brazil and South Africa Form Partnership On Future Investment Promotion Initiatives
Brazil’s Water Sector Benefits From Investment Ahead of World Cup, Olympics

Latin America

Cencosud of Chile to Acquire Carrefour Colombia Division

Cencosud SA agreed to buy Carrefour SA’s Colombian unit for 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) as it taps rising consumer spending in Latin America and the world’s second-largest retailer retreats from markets it can’t dominate.

Venezuela/Paraguay rift spoils Brazil’s plans for a ‘normal’ Mercosur summit
Singapore, the fastest growing market for Latin America
CAF Encourages Singapore to Invest in Latin America
Cuba Praises China-Latin America Ties
Latin America can produce double-digit investment returns over next decade
Arab and Latin American leaders agree to investment bank
LatAm’s Largest Solar Power Plant  in Peru receiving 40 MW of Solar PV Modules from China
Arab and LatAm leaders agree to investment bank
Peru central bank could allow more pension funds invested abroad
Latin American Ratings Strong Enough to Weather a Commodity-Cycle Downturn
Latin American gold rush brings riches, conflict
Latin lithium output mired in controversy

Source: Various 19.10.2012

Filed under: Argentina, Banking, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Energy & Environment, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Venezuela, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 16, 2011 • 11:08 pm 0

Argentina Attracted 40 Per Cent Of Chinese Investments In Latin America

BUENOS AIRES, June 16 – Argentina attracted 40% of all Chinese investments in the Latin American region in the last twelve months – June 2010 to May 2011 – and prospects remain “optimistic”.

A report from U.S Deloitte investment company said Argentina attracted US$15.6 billion up 286% over the previous twelve months, which were concentrated mainly in energy and natural resources – US$14bn equivalent to 71% of the total amount.

In the last twelve months eight major operations involving Chinese investments in Latin America were reported, mostly by Sinopec one of the world’s leading oil corporations that purchased Repsol-YPF-Brazil and Occidental in Argentina for US$9.6bn.

These two operations represent 62% of total capital invested by China in the region.

Another major player was China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) which invested US$3.1bn in Argentina when it took over 50% of Bridas Corporation in May 2010.

Bridas later acquired Pan American Energy for US$7bn in Nov 2010 and Exxon Mobile Argentina for US$700 million last March.

In the same period Chinese corporations were involved in 91 world operations totalling US$43.6bn.

“With its growing influence in the world, China has become one of the main investors based on operations in North America, Europe, Australia and Africa, mostly in natural resources, but is also gaining ground in Latin America”, says Deloitte.

Energy and natural resources are the target of Chinese groups and this explains why Argentina and Brazil leads points out the report, but looking ahead it forecasts that prospects for other areas such manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, finances are ‘optimistic’.

China is searching strategic niches for its growing domestic demand and consolidation as a world power and in this context, “Latin America becomes therefore a potential partner since it has the abundant resources and food China needs”, the report said.

Source:BERNAMA-NNN-MERCOPRESS, 23.06.2011

Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, China, Energy & Environment, Latin America, Mexico, News, , , , , , ,

August 13, 2010 • 7:43 am 0

Tongling, CRCC to invest $3b in Ecuador copper mine

Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co and China Railway Construction Corp may invest as much as $3 billion in a copper project in Ecuador, as China seeks to control more commodity assets to feed its economy.   

Production at the Corriente Copper Belt may start in 2013, Hu Guobin, vice-president of a venture set up by the two Chinese companies for the project, said in an interview. Annual copper in concentrate output would start at 30,000 tons and double a year later, he said.

Chinese companies spent more than $30 billion last year buying oilfields and mines as two decades of economic growth averaging 10.1 percent made China the world’s biggest metal and energy consumer. Copper prices have doubled in the past five years, driven by demand in the third-largest economy. “The investment will significantly lift Tongling’s copper ore self-sufficiency and investors expect the assets to be injected into the listed unit later,” Heng Kun, an analyst at Essence Securities, said by phone.Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co rose 2.4 percent to close at 16.20 yuan at the 3 pm close in Shenzhen. China Railway rose 0.4 percent to HK$10.08 ($1.3) at the 4 pm close in Hong Kong. Tongling, China’s second-biggest copper producer, and China Railway Construction, the nation’s biggest railroad builder, in December agreed to buy Canada’s Corriente Resources Inc for C$679 million ($652 million) for the copper resources. The deal was completed and Corriente was delisted this month, according to a statement on Corriente’s website.

Chinese Demand

“All the ore will be shipped back to China” to meet demand, said Hu, who was nominated to the venture from Anhui- based Tongling. The copper producer will take delivery of half the ore, he said. Production in the long-term may reach 250,000 tons to 300,000 tons a year, Hu said. Tongling produced 44,000 tons of copper concentrate last year.

The rapid expansion of smelting capacity in China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of copper metal, has increased ore demand and spurred companies to invest overseas. Larger rival Jiangxi Copper Co invested in copper mines in Peru and Afghanistan, and Zijin Mining Group Co is seeking copper and cobalt assets in the Republic of Congo.

The Corriente Copper Belt covers 17 deposits in the four main mining regions of Mirador, Mirador Norte, Panantza and San Carlos, China Railway said in December. Copper resources are about 11.54 million tons, based on initial studies, it said. Corriente was also involved in the exploration and development of gold, silver and molybdenum mines, according to the December statement.

Source: CITIC New Edge, 12.08.2010 Mr. Liang Haisan

Filed under: China, Energy & Environment, Latin America, News, , , , , , , ,

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