Comcel de Colombia, which is owned by Mexican telco América Móvil, is to propose to shareholders that it offers up to $400 million of new local currency-denominated debt. The proposal will be made at an extraordinary general meeting on May 16. Last year, Comcel issued peso-denominated debt worth around $200 million to protect against fluctuations in the US dollar against the Colombian currency.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Panama May Join G3
Panama has said it is interested in joining the Group of Three (G3) free trade agreement, which currently unites Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. Earlier this week, Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, announced that he was considering withdrawing his country from the G3 trade bloc in favor of greater integration with countries in the south of the region. Mexico has said it would support the addition of Panama.
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Bolivia Plans Further Nationalization
Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, has said that further nationalization of his country’s natural resources is planned. Speaking in Vienna, where he is attending the EU-Latin America/Caribbean Summit, Morales said that his government’s agrarian reform package will ensure that the state takes back “unproductive” land from private landlords and will redistribute up to 14 million hectares of land to indigenous groups and farmers. According to minister of planning, Carlos Villegas, the government will unveil details of the reform package at the end of May.
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Bolivia Appoints New Oil Chiefs
The Bolivian government has appointed the new directors that will sit on the boards of the country’s five newly nationalized oil concerns. The new directors will represent the state-owned oil company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB). Each company’s board will comprise four state-appointed directors and three from the foreign oil companies that now own a minority stake. The government has also named the five government agents, syndics, responsible for each concern. These are: Santiago Berríos at Andina (Repsol YPF); René Rocabado at Chaco (BP); Felipe Hurtado at Transredes (Enron and Shell); Jorge Suroco at Petrobras’ refinery and Federico Yáñez at CLHB (Petrobras).
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Mexico Inflation Falls
Mexico’s annual inflation fell slightly in April, to 3.2% from 3.41% in March. The rate is now approaching record low levels last seen in November and has led to speculation by some analysts that there may even be room for further interest rate cuts later in the year. However, core annual inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, is actually on the rise – it registered 3.2% in April against 3.04% in March – driven by the construction boom and growing demand for materials. In addition, any rise in US Fed rates, leading to a tightening in the spread between Mexican and US rates, will leave less room for Banxico to cut.
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Central America Talks Trade With EU
Central American leaders are set to have trade talks this week with the EU at the EU-Latin American/Caribbean Summit being held in Vienna. The heads of state met in Costa Rica Monday as the guest of newly inaugurated president Oscar Arias to discuss a broad range of themes in advance of attending the Summit in Austria. One of the themes will be an Association Agreement between Central American and the European bloc that includes a free trade treaty.
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Chávez To Leave G3?
Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, has said that his government is considering leaving another long-standing regional group – the G3, which also includes Colombia and Mexico. Chávez said the Group, set up in 1989, which allows for free trade, economic integration and political coordination between the three nations is “prejudicial” to Venezuela. He added that the country was instead looking for greater integration with countries in the south of the region.
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Imsa Completes Sale Of Chilean Assets
Mexican construction company Imsa has completed the sale of its operations in Chile to the country’s largest steel-maker, CAP. The Chilean firm agreed in March to pay $39 million for Imsa’s local subsidiary, but the final price paid was $37.3 million.
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Dominican BHD Applies For Panama License
Dominican financial group Centro Financiero BHD has applied to Panama’s banking authorities for a license to set up a subsidiary in that market. The bank would operate under the name BHD International Bank.
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Cemex To Sell Indonesia Stake To Local Group
The world’s third-largest cement producer, Mexican Cemex, is to sell its stake in Indonesia’s largest cement-industry player, Semen Gresik, to local Rajawali Group. It has agreed to accept $337 million, or $2.28 per share, for the 24.9% holding.