Panamanians overwhelmingly approved a $5.25 billion plan to expand the Panama Canal and allow today’s super freighters to use the waterway, according to preliminary results from Sunday’s vote. Early returns show 79 percent of voters approved the plan in a poll seen as a vote of confidence for the government. The 92-year-old canal can no longer accommodate about a third of the world’s commercial cargo fleet, causing it to lose income. Opponents claim the money would be better spent on schools and hospitals. The government plans to finance the expansion by increasing tolls and issuing debt linked to canal income. This would not be public debt, officials have said.
Category: Regions
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Ecuador to Take EU Banana Tariff Dispute to WTO
Ecuador plans to file a complaint over European Union banana tariffs with the World Trade Organization, according to Tomas Peribonio, the country’s trade minister. The EU slapped a uniform tariff of 176 euros a ton on Latin American bananas last January after the WTO ruled a previous system of quotas and tariffs was illegal. Historically the European Union has favored banana imports from former British, French and German colonies at the expense of Latin American producers.
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Telefonica del Peru Reports 39.2 Percent Gain in Third Quarter Profit
Telefonica del Peru, a subsidiary of Spain’s Telefonica, reported a 39.2 percent increase in profits in the third quarter to $36.2 million. The company, which controls the fixed line market and competes principally with America Movil in the mobile phone market, said the increase was a result of the purchase of a competitor, Telefonica Empresas Peru.
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Mexican Incoming Government’s Finance Czar Calls for Smarter Taxes and Spending
Agustin Carstens, economic adviser to Mexican President-Elect Felipe Calderon, said the government needs to improve tax collection and spend cash more wisely to improve the economy and reduce poverty. Mexico has one of the worst tax collection rates in Latin America as successive governments have relied on oil income. Calderon takes office Dec. 1 and Carstens is widely tipped to become his Finance Secretary.
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Mexican Unemployment Rate Falls In September From August High
Mexico’s unemployment rate fell to 3.98 percent in September from 4.03 percent in August, according to the national statistics agency. Economists said the slight improvement comes as the economy gears up for the holiday season in industries related to tourism. Last year the economy grew 3 percent and little improvement is expected for 2006.
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Mexico’s Pemex Reports Record Foreign Oil Earnings, Volume Down
Petroleos Mexicanos, the state oil monopoly, reported record earnings from crude exports in the first nine months of the year of $27.3 billion as it shipped an average of 1.84 million barrels of oil a day. The state oil company, hampered by years of under investment, saw its export volume dip from 2.05 million barrels a day in January to 1.68 million barrels a day in September as overall production declined to 3.26 million barrels a day from 3.43 million barrels a day a year earlier. The company has earned $54.5 dollars for every barrel exported so far in 2006.
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Panama Canal Vote Cheers Investors
This weekend Panamanians are likely to vote “yes” in a national referendum on the proposed $5.25 billion plan to expand the country’s Canal to accommodate so-called “post-Panamax” vessels. A research note from investment bank Morgan Stanley expects Panama’s positive debt outlook to be bolstered by a “yes” vote and that it could “settle in at sub 100 bp levels for five-year CDS”. The Bank commented that Sunday’s vote is broadly seen as a referendum on the Torrijos administration, which is currently enjoying an approval rating of over 65%. Morgan Stanley added in the note that it expected the country to grow by over 7% this year and keep inflation contained at around 2%.
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Cencosud Offers $271 Million For 25% Of Exito
One of Chile’s largest retailers, Cencosud, has acquired a 24.5% stake in Colombia’s largest supermarket chain Exito for $271 million. The Chilean company offered to buy 51.2 million shares from investor Grupo Toro, at 12,500 Colombian pesos a share. Grupo Toro has to give other Exito shareholders 90 days the option to buy the shares before it can sell them to Cencosud.
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Palacio Appoints Economy Minister Number Six
As Ecuador awaits the final results of the first-round of its presidential elections, the volatility that has characterized the country’s political scene continued with the resignation, Tuesday night, of its economy minister Armando Rodas, who left citing personal reasons. Rodas, who was replaced by Banco del Estado president José Jouvín, had only been in the post for three months and was the fifth economy minister to serve under interim president Alfredo Palacio. The first economy minister was current presidential candidate Rafael Correa, currently in second place with 23.2% of the votes with 88% of the ballots counted. Banana magnate Alvaro Noboa continues to lead, having polled 26.3% of the public’s support. A second round of voting is scheduled for November 26, which will see Correa and Noboa in a run-off for president.
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Banorte Pushes Out Mortgage Terms
Mexico’s largest locally owned bank, Grupo Financiero Banorte, is to offer 30-year residential mortgages, the longest term available in the country up until now, according to the Bank. Banorte, ranked fifth in the local market in terms of assets, hopes to attract customers through innovation in a market dominated by foreign banks. Mexico’s housing market has taken off recently and the mortgages on offer in the market today were almost unheard of not that long ago.