Ecuador’s Supreme Electoral Court has ruled that former president Lucio Gutiérrez will not be able to stand in the presidential elections due to take place in October, despite the apparent intervention of a local judge in the province of Napo. Gutiérrez, who returned from exile last October is adamant he will run for president in this October’s presidential elections. Last month, the Supreme Electoral Court voted to ban the ex-president from public office for two years because of campaign contribution irregularities in 2002. Gutiérrez was ousted from office by Congress last April.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Banistmo Applies To List On Latibex
Panamanian financial group Banistmo has applied to list on Latibex, the Madrid-based index of Latin American stocks. If accepted, it will become the thirty-third company to be quoted on Latibex, and the first from Panama. Banistmo operates in Panama, Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the Bahamas.
Posted inDaily Brief
Peru Central Bank Holds Rate; Growth Continues
Peru’s Central Bank decided to hold its benchmark interest rate unchanged yesterday, Thursday, for the first time in six months, keeping it at 4.50%. A rise of 25 basis points had been expected by economists to help cool domestic demand, which is driving Peru’s continued economic growth. GDP expanded by 6.8% in the first quarter of the year, compared with the same period in 2005. Internal demand rose by 9.9%, driven mainly by capital investment. Meantime, the rate of inflation in May declined for the first time since September last year, falling 0.53%. Annual inflation slowed to 2.2%, within the government’s target range of 1.5% to 3.5%.
Posted inDaily Brief
BBVA Looks To Expand Real Estate Activity In Latin America
Spanish BBVA’s real estate unit, Anida, says it is planning to expand its operations in Mexico and is considering projects in Chile and Colombia. The company says it anticipates projects in Mexico will represent 25% of Anida’s portfolio by 2011. The housing market in Mexico has taken off in recent years as a result of government incentives and a boom in the mortgage market.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombia To Sell $2 Billion Globals
Colombia’s Congress has authorized the government to tap the international markets for up to $2 billion by issuing global bonds. The money raised will be used to fund the 2007 budget. The government has also been authorized to seek a further $2 billion in loans from multilateral organizations.
Posted inDaily Brief
DR Approves Verizon Sale To América Móvil
Dominican Republic has approved the sale of Verizon’s local assets to Mexican wireless phone operator América Móvil for just over $2 billion. The Mexican company offered to buy the Dominican unit in April, along with Verizon’s 28.5% stake in Venezuela’s CANTV for $676.6 million.
Posted inMagazine
Cushioning the Blow
Dan Ozizmir, managing director in Swiss Re’s capital markets unit, explains how the reinsurer structured a $160 million catastrophe bond for Mexico.
Posted inMagazine
Long, Slow March
With homebuilding and lending going full-throttle in Mexico, originators are hurrying to package their mortgage portfolios into securities.
Posted inMagazine
Ready for REITs
After having worked out some tax complications, Mexico is poised to become the first Latin American country to develop a REIT market.
Posted inDaily Brief
Peru’s Fiscal Surplus Doubles
Peru’s fiscal surplus rose in April to just over $1 billion, almost double its level at the same time last year, according to the country’s Central Bank. The increase has been driven by the improvement in tax collection, the Bank said.