Colombia is to package shares from the best of the state-run regional electricity companies into a holding company that will be partially privatized next year. Four of the country’s 12 companies will see the majority of their shares – the 80% stake held by the government – transferred into the new electric power generation holding company, while the remaining 20% of the shares will remain in the hands of their current shareholders. The government has worked hard to turn the public sector electricity companies from loss-making concerns into profitable businesses last year. The shares of infrastructure companies in Colombia is seen as an attractive long-term investment by institutional investors, many of whom already own shares in ISA, the power transmission company partially privatized by the government in 2000 that has gone on to expand in other countries in the region.
Category: Regions
Interbolsa And Inversionistas To Merge
Colombia’s largest brokerage, Interbolsa, is to merge with rival firm Inversionistas de Colombia to create an entity the size of a bank, with assets totaling $103 million. Interbolsa, which has a listing on the Colombian Stock Exchange, will absorb Inversionistas, according to the proposals being presented to both sets of shareholders. The two companies say they are looking for synergies within their businesses to consolidate capital. This will enable them to win new business in the area of investment banking and compete with the increasing regional presence of foreign banks, set to increase next year when Colombia’s free trade agreement with the US comes into force. Many analysts see this merger as the first of many in the sector in Colombia.
Uribe Starts Historic Second Term
Álvaro Uribe began his second term as president of Colombia yesterday when he was inaugurated amidst high security in the capital, Bogotá. He vowed to follow through with his election promise of finishing the work he had started in his first term. Uribe, one of the few pro-US leaders in Latin America, enjoys huge popularity in Colombia thanks to his government’s sound economic management of the country and his successful policy of “democratic security”, which has seen a drop in the country’s violence. He won last May’s election with 62% of the vote after a change to the Constitution allowed him to stand for a second term. This is the first time in modern times a Colombian president has served for two consecutive terms.
Petroecuador Says Ex-Oxy Fields Not For Sale
Galo Chiriboga, the new president of Ecuador’s state-controlled oil company Petroecuador, has confirmed that the three oil fields seized earlier this year from US oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp (Oxy) will not be sold to the private sector. Instead, a new company will be established to run operations. Since being taken over by the state in May, the fields have been run by an interim operator. In addition to the new operating company, a special fund – majority-owned by the finance ministry – will be created to manage the profits from the fields. On Friday last, Petroecuador succeeded in selling at auction 17.2 barrels of crude oil from the fields to Taurus of the US and Japan’s Mitsubishi in a deal estimated at around $28 million. In May, following a long-running dispute with Oxy, Ecuador’s government cancelled its existing production agreement with the US oil company, claiming that it sold part of the country’s oil stock illegally to Canadian company EnCana in 2000.
Carrefour Sizes Up Colombia’s Carulla Vivero
French supermarket giant Carrefour has said it may be interested in buying Colombia’s retail chain Carulla Vivero, the second-largest in the country. Several weeks ago Carulla Vivero mandated Credit Suisse to search for a strategic partner for it. There has been much speculation in recent months about the possible sale of Carulla Vivero, with possible suitors including Chilean retailers Ripley, Cencosud and Falabella or even US behemoth Wal-Mart. The Colombian retailer, which is controlled by US investment fund Newbridge Andean Partners, last year entered a joint venture with Ripley to launch a co-branded credit card.
Mexican Court Agrees To Partial Recount
Mexico’s Federal Electoral Court has agreed to a partial recount of votes from July 2 presidential elections, but rejected the request from Andrés Manual Lopez Obrador (AMLO) for a full review. Votes from around 10% of the country’s polling stations will be looked at again this week. The small number of ballots to be recounted means it will be almost impossible for AMLO to overtake Felipe Calderón in the overall voting result. AMLO has said he is unsatisfied with the judges decision and has called on his supporters to continue the protests that have paralyzed the center of the capital. The Court has until the end of August to review all challenges to the election and must declare a winner by September 6.
Pérez Lizaur New Head At Wal-Mart Centroamérica
Mexican Ignacio Pérez Lizaur has become the new president and chief executive of Wal-Mart’s regional division for Central America, Wal-Mart Centroamérica, covering Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Pérez Lizaur has 18 years of experience with Wal-Mart International, most recently running the company’s operations in Puerto Rico. He replaces Mario Chiu who has gone to join the management team at Wal-Mart de México (Walmex), in charge of developing new business ideas.
Ecuador Posts 0.03% Price Rise For July
Ecuador registered inflation of 0.03% last month, compared with June, according to the national statistics institute, INEC. This took inflation for the year through July to 1.57% and 12-month inflation to 2.99%. Leading the rise in prices was transport (0.02%), accommodation (0.02%), utilities and energy (0.2%) and clothing and footwear (0.01%). The rise in the CPI in July followed two consecutive months of deflation: June -0.23% and May -0.14%.
Ecuador To Settle Electricity Bill
Ecuador is to pay off its electricity debt – owed by distributors to power generators – by using money from a special fund that will be financed by issuing bonds. The government has barred distributors, since 1999, from passing on the true cost of electricity to the end-consumer. So distributors have been running up debts with generators, who in turn have gone into the red with state-run Petroecuador. Congress late last week approved reforms to the electricity law to allow the debts to be settled.
Deutsche Bank Mexico Appoints Betancourt As Trading Head
Deutsche Bank Mexico has recruited Luis Antonio Betancourt Barrios from JP Morgan to join the Bank’s global markets division as head of trading for Mexico. Betancourt will be based in Mexico City and report jointly to Cristian Binaghi and Sergio Kostek, managing directors and co-heads of Latin America trading, and Tito Vidaurri, managing director and country manager for Deutsche Bank Mexico.