Panama is to invest $300 million to build a new thermal energy plant with a 250MW capacity, representing 20% of the country’s daily energy needs. The government set up Empresa de Generación Eléctrica SA (Egesa), which will run the plant, to participate in the upcoming energy tender to supply 200MW daily, from 2007 until 2020, being offered by power distributor Unión Fenosa. Carlos Carache has been appointed managing director of Egesa.
Category: Regions
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Cemex To Build Plant In UK
Mexico’s largest cement producer, Cemex, is to invest $49 million to build a new grinding and blending facility in the UK. It is due to be online by 2008. The plant, to be built near London at Tilbury, will have a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes a year. The company said the new plant will be “well placed to help meet demand for the cement required for new developments in the region and the sustainable construction challenges of the London 2012 Olympic Games.” Earlier this year, the company announced a $500 million global expansion program that will also see increased operating capacity in US, France and Latvia.
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Peru Details Debt Plan
Peru is planning to save around $1.5 billion in debt servicing costs on debt owed to the Paris Club group of lenders by extending out debt due in 2010 by another three to five years. The country owes around $5.75 billion to the Paris Club in total. Last year, Peru paid down $1.5 billion of its debt to the creditors. The government also says it aims to reduce the ratio of its foreign public debt from 78% of the total to 69%, converting it into domestic debt by the end of next year. The move will help protect Peru from external shocks say economists. Next week the government will make its eighth local-currency bond issue, this time worth $70.7 million. It last sold local-currency sovereign bonds in August, worth $121 million.
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Mexico Inflation Quickens In August
Mexico’s rate of inflation quickened in August, rising 0.51% to post cumulative inflation of 3.47% for the eight months through August, the highest level in six months. The monthly rise compares with an increase of 0.12% in August last year. The price rises were driven by increases in the cost of electric power and certain agricultural goods, according to the Central Bank. The Bank had forecast inflation of 3% for the year; most analysts are now predicting a rate closer to 3.4%.
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Mexico To Sell Airport Stake End-October
The Mexican government will sell its remaining 49% stake in airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte (GACN) via a global secondary offering at the end of October to raise around $300 million. Accival, part of Citigroup, will act as placing agent. In April this year the government rejected an offer by local construction firm ICA to buy its holding for $270 million and chose instead to offer it for sale via the stock exchange. ICA already owns 51% of the company and therefore had the right to bid for the outstanding shares. GACN has operations in 13 locations throughout the country, including Monterrey and the resort of Acapulco. In February the government raised $870 million from the sale of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP), the country’s largest airport operator. The sale was the government’s largest IPO in 10 years.
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Garcia Names Rival’s Advisor To Head Peru Central Bank
Peru’s President Alan Garcia has picked the former chief economic advisor to opposition leader Lourdes Flores, to take control of the country’s central bank. Julio Velarde, currently head of the Latin American Reserve Fund in Colombia and considered an orthodox economist, will become president of the Banco Central De Reserva for the next five years. He replaces acting bank chief Oscar Dancourt.
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De Bonilla To Take Over At Banguat
María Antoineta de Bonilla will take the reins at Banguat, Guatemala’s central bank, from October 1 from Lizardo Sosa who steps down at the end of his four-year term. De Bonilla is currently finance minister, a post she has held since 2004. Prior to this she was a director of Banco del Quetzal, held posts at the Inter-American Development Bank and was vice-president of Banguat in 1994. Her position at the ministry will be filled by Hugo Beteta who is in charge of economic planning.
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BAT Moves To Mexico
The world’s second-largest tobacco manufacturer, British American Tobacco (BAT), Friday, opened its new plant in Mexico. The company has closed its operations in Ontario, Canada, and shifted production to the Mexican plant, creating around 500 jobs in Mexico as a result. BAT spent $100 million on the new plant in Monterrey, which was built in six months and will export up to 18 billion cigarettes a year north to the Canadian market, representing 40% of that country’s market sales.
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Colombia Drops Planned VAT On Food
Colombia’s government is dropping its controversial 10% VAT on staple foods, put forward in its tax reform bill currently under review by the country’s Congress. The bill seeks to reform and streamline taxes and promote investment. Among changes sought by the government was the introduction of an additional level of VAT, rated at 10%, on staple foods. The VAT change was always likely to meet resistance in Congress as it will have a particularly strong impact on the lowest levels of society.
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Hutchinson Wins Ecuador Port Concession
As expected, Ecuador has awarded the 30-year operating concession of its Manta port, on the country’s Pacific coast, to the only bidder – Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Port Holdings (HPH), the world’s largest port operator. HPH has offered to invest $468 million to add to the government’s initial commitment of $55 million to transform the cargo port into a mega, deep-water container port to serve as a gateway to South America for the increasing trade between Asia and the Continent.