Mark Mobius, president of Templeton Emerging Markets and a crusader for minority shareholder rights, says Brazilian laws encourage entrenched corporate management to control companies without owning a majority of capital. Investors therefore have the incentive to buy control of companies at big premiums and then lower the purchase price by offering to buy the shares held by hapless minority investors, who lose out again and again.
Category: 2000
Posted inMagazine
Where Have All the Bradys Gone?
Latin sovereigns retired billions in Brady debt this year as the markets showed renewed appetite for swaps to simpler, cheaper and longer-term bonds.
Posted inMagazine
Giving Globo a Warm Reception
Investor enthusiasm for the Brazilian media company’s euro issue this year sends a positive signal to Latin American corporate borrowers, who still need to work on raising their profile in Europe.
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Will Mexico’s Financial Armor Hold?
Early government action to protect Mexico from external financial shocks put it in solid shape for Vicente Fox’s administration. But with red flags on the horizon, there is still room – and time – to repeat history.
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A Tax-and-Spend Spree?
Plans for more than $1 billion in new public spending were followed by a tax package that alarmed business leaders. If Congress approves it, the country?s unprecedented growth spurt may soon end.
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Jury Still Out on Privatizations
The previous administration’s aggressive privatization agenda helped cost it the election last May. The new government has now softened its criticism, which may give the program time to succeed.
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Banco Mercantil Plays Defense
Venezuela’s largest bank is one of the first Latin American companies to enact US-style tactics to fend off hostile takeover bids. But is it simply cementing its established management?
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Latin America Hangs Up on Monopolies
Deregulation still has a long way to go in the region’s telecoms industry, but Argentina and Venezuela are opening the way to more competition and with that, more direct investment opportunities.
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Boom Time for the Free Zones
Government reforms spurred the rapid expansion of duty-free industrial parks in the Dominican Republic over the last four years. It?s time to reap the payoff now that the Caribbean Basin countries have finally been given the same benefits as Mexico in apparel exports to the US.
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MarketWatch
Confidence in Brazil Grows Brazil’s domestic debt burden has increased by more than a third in nominal terms since the January 1999 currency crisis. In dollar terms, the debt stock […]