Guatemala joined El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to become the fourth Central American nation to implement Cafta, the free trade agreement with the US. Meanwhile, Dominican Republic delayed the planned July 1 implementation of the Treaty while it continued to negotiate some aspects of the agreement.
Category: Regions
Posted inMagazine
A Minnow Among Whales
As large multinational banks scrap it out in Mexico, homegrown niche players like Ixe are finding that being small and nimble gives them a leg up.
Posted inMagazine
Thin Margin for the Marginalized
Only 244,000 Mexican voters – 0.24% of the population – felt more confident seeing conservative Felipe Calderón as their next president than the vociferous leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). […]
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexico May Issue 30-Year Bond After Elections
Mexico expects market conditions after Sunday’s presidential elections to be calm enough to allow it to sell 30-year government bonds, according to Finance Minister Francisco Gil Diaz. At a press conference ahead of the weekend he said Mexico’s fiscal and economic conditions are stable and there is no danger of any market wobbles. Up until President Vicente Fox’s win in 2000, the previous three presidential elections were marked by economic crises.
Posted inDaily Brief
Brazil’s Gerdau Buys Peruvian Steelmaker Siderperu for $62.7 Mln
Gerdau, Latin America’s largest steelmaker, bought a 52 percent stake Siderperu for $62.7 million from the Peruvian government, fending off India’s Global Steel Holdings Ltd. The government acquired the stake in the company based 422 kilometers north of Lima last March in lieu of money owed. The price was a 25 percent premium over the current stock market value of the company’s shares.
Posted inDaily Brief
Peruvian Congress Ratifies U.S. Trade Pact
Peruvian legislators overwhelmingly approved a free trade agreement with the United States that would boost the economy through increased exports. The government now hopes the U.S. Congress will do the same before the summer recess, although even ministers admit this may not be easy.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombian Pension Funds Offer $285 Mln For Gas Distributor
A group of Colombian pension funds bid $285 million for the company’s main natural gas distributor, now called Transportadora de Gas del Interior (TCI). The new company springs from the sale of state utility Empresa Colombiana de Gas Natural, which operates 3,644 kilometers of gas pipelines. The sale is part of the Colombian government’s privatization program.
Posted inDaily Brief
SABMiller Sells Colombian Juice Business for $55.3 Mln
SABMiller sold its Colombian juice business to local company Gaseosas Posada Tobon for $55.3 million, divesting itself of a non-core business. The company was part of the brewer Bavaria, which SABMiller bought last year. Based in South Africa, SABMiller is the second largest brewer of beer in the world.