Category: People
GE Increases Brazil Sales Forecast
General Electric increased its 2005 sales forecast in Brazil from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion on rising lending and sales of equipment such as jet engines. CEO Jeffrey Immelt said in his annual report to shareholders in March that he expects 60 percent of the company´s sales rise in the next decade to come from outside the US. GE forecasts total sales will rise to as much as $170 billion this year from $152 billion in 2004.
Varig CEO Leaves
Henrique Neves, the CEO of Brazil´s troubled airline Varig, quit his post and was replaced by the company´s deputy chairman Ornar Carneiro da Cunha, who will be the company´s eighth CEO in five years. Varig has struggled in recent years to compete with Brazil´s discount carrier Gol and has consistently lost market share.
Embratel May Up Investments
Brazil’s long-distance phone carrier Embratel may invest more than the $540 million initially planned for this year. CEO Carlos Henrique Moreira said that further investments will depend on the success of a capital increase of up to $700 million being carried out by Mexican parent company Telmex. Embratel’s capital increase is slated to be completed on April 27.
A Contender Again
Manuel Medina-Mora, the CEO of Citigroup in Latin America, lays out his plan for the bank’s future
in the region.
Flying High
Latin America’s best-run airline, LAN, has marked its 10th straight year of profits. Enrique Cueto, LatinFinance’s CEO of the Year, is the man who made it happen.
Power of REITs
Roberto Ordorica, CEO of the Latin American arm of US real estate company Prudential Real Estate Investors, explains how REITs could help finance housing and commercial property projects.
Arcor’s Bittersweet Success
With its home country crumpling around it, the Argentine confectionery company Arcor is remarkably solvent, thanks
to Luis Pagani, its farsighted president and LatinFinance’s CEO of the Year.