Bolivia’s Constituent Assembly, whose 255 members were elected on July 2, will open the debate today, Tuesday, on the future of the country’s Constitution. The Assembly is tasked with reworking the Constitution, despite a lack of consensus between the government and the opposition on how much of a majority is needed to vote through the constitutional reforms. Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, the country’s first indigenous president, has called for radical reform and a “refounding of Bolivia” on behalf of the Indian majority of the population.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
América Movil To Tap Latin American Markets
Mexican wireless communications company América Movil, the region’s largest cellular phone operator, says it is planning to issue debt in several local Latin American markets this year. The money raised will be used to fund its expansion plans to raise total users by 12%, up to 122 million, by the end of year. The company will issue securities in Peru and Chile as part of the first stage of its plan. This week, the company began an aggressive marketing campaign aimed at grabbing a larger share of the Chilean market. On Thursday it is due to relaunch the newly rebranded Claro (formerly Smartcom), the number three domestic operator which it bought last year, and its new GSM network.
Posted inDaily Brief
Calderón Claims Recount Confirms Victory
Felipe Calderón, the candidate of Mexico’s ruling PAN party, has claimed that a partial recount of the July 2 voting will confirm him as the winner of the presidential elections. There has been no official declaration of the recount from the country’s Federal Electoral Court charged with overseeing the review and publishing the results. The review of ballots from 9% of the country’s polling stations was authorized August 5 following a request for a full recount by opposition candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). The PRI candidate has refused to accept defeat in the elections and has urged his supporters to continue with their protests which have disrupted the center of Mexico City for the past two weeks.
Posted inDaily Brief
China-India Tie-Up Take Stake In Omimex
ONGC Videsh (the overseas investment arm of India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp) and China’s second-largest oil company, Sinopec, have agreed to invest $800 million in return for a 50% stake in Colombian oil company Omimex de Colombia, owned by Omimex Resources of the US. In June Omimex announced it would invest a further $70 million in its Colombian operations, looking to diversify from extraction of crude towards natural gas exploration and other alternative sources of energy.
Posted inDaily Brief
Su Casita Prepares Further $150 Million Of Securitization
Mexican mortgage lender Hipotecaria Su Casita will be the first home lender to issue securities since the July 2 elections when it offers $150 million-worth of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) next month. The offering is part of its program to raise $400 million this year via securitization issues. This would be the fourth offering so far this year by the company, which is the largest home finance company in Mexico. Su Casita sold $95 million-worth of RMBS on August 4, $100 million-worth in June and $48.5 million worth in April. The company, which celebrates its 12th anniversary this year, will also launch a credit scheme next month to allow foreigners to own property in Mexico.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombia Sets Date For Bancafé Sale, Phase Two
Colombia has set a date of October 12 to begin the second phase of its privatization of Granbanco-Bancafé. The bank, the country’s seventh-largest in terms of assets, is expected to bring to the country’s coffers around $450 million and will give the successful buyer around 6% of the country’s banking assets. The government opened up the initial phase of the sale of the bank in July, due to end on September 17, during which the bank’s assets are being offered to the country’s pension funds, unions, cooperatives and other sectors of the so-called “solidarity” public sector. Local firms expected to bid for the government’s last financial asset include Grupo Colpatria, Grupo Bolívar (the mayor shareholder of Davivienda), and Bancolombia. Foreign bidders are likely to include Santander, Citibank and HSBC.
Posted inDaily Brief
Nicaragua Seeks To Issue Bonds To Recharge Energy Needs
Nicaragua’s government has sent a bill to Congress to approve the issuance of $9 million worth of Treasury bills to help alleviate the country’s energy crisis. The money raised would be used to inject fresh funds into Spanish-owned utility Unión Fenosa to enable it to buy electricity in the Central American energy market. Fenosa controls Nicaragua’s electricity distribution. Power outages have been a common problem since last year but the situation has worsened recently due to technical failures and the rising price of oil. Nicaragua has been struggling to meet its daily electricity needs of 450 MW per day and has been forced to introduce rationing.
Posted inDaily Brief
Telmex Buys Into Portugal Telecom
Mexican telecoms company Telmex, Mexico’s largest fixed-line operator, has bought a 3.4% stake in Portugal Telecom (PT). PT is currently defending itself from a hostile takeover bid by rival company Sonaecom for $14.2 billion. Telmex has not discarded the possibility that it may raise its stake in PT, possibly bidding against Sonaecom to take control of the company. Analysts believe Telmex may be interested in acquiring, indirectly, a stake in Vivo, Brazil’s largest mobile phone operator which is jointly owned by PT and Spain’s Telefónica. Telefónica is also PT’s largest shareholder, owning 9.96% of its shares.
Posted inDaily Brief
VENA Sells $110 Million Notes
Mexican Vitro Envases Norteamérica (VENA), a subsidiary of glass manufacturer Vitro, has sold $110 million of senior short-term guaranteed notes. The one-year notes carry a 10% interest rate. The money raised is to be used to prepay a $105 million loan with Credit Suisse, lowering the cost of the company’s debt. The issue was 40% oversubscribed, according to the company’s press release. The offering was arranged by BCP Securities.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombia Opens Third Round of Trade Talks With Central America
Colombia will today, Monday, open the third round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the “northern triangle” Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The talks, being held in Medellín, will continue to discuss topics such as: technical obstacles to free trade, visas, contracts and investment rules. Colombia began to negotiate an FTA with Central America earlier this year after it sealed its agreement with the US. The aim of the treaty is to increase bilateral trade between Colombia and the “northern triangle” countries for the benefit of both sides.