Meanwhile, Peru’s currency — the sol — continues to slide for the third month in a row and has become the worst performer among Latin American currencies. The sol traded at 3.3785 per dollar as at 31 October, down from 3.2575 on 26 August, a drop of 3.6% Analysts say that low local yields have led large institutional investors to switch from local paper to US-denominated assets in search of higher returns.
Category: Regions
Posted inMagazine
The Midas Touch
Carlos Slim’s recent equity deals helped diversify the Mexican stock market and cap a year of heightened equity activity. But have his stocks done too well?
Posted inDaily Brief
BBVA Outbids Competitors For Granahorrar
BBVA in Colombia, the affiliate of Spanish banking giant, has outbid local competitors to buy state-owned mortgage-lender Granahorrar, which went under the hammer yesterday in Bogotá in the second phase of its privatization. BBVA bid $423.6 million to take control of 98.78% of Granahorrar, beating off Colpatria, Davivienda and Banco de Bogotá in the process. Spanish bank Santander, which had been expected to present an offer, failed to bid.
Posted inMagazine
Exclusive Interview – Evo Morales
LatinFinance talks with Evo Morales on the future of Bolivia, his presidential campaign, and his relationship with Hugo Chávez.
Posted inDaily Brief
Peruvians Say “No” To Decentralization
President Alejandro Toledo’s plans to decentralize government in Peru have been dealt a blow. An overwhelming majority of people in Peru voted against the creation of new regions in Sunday’s referendum. Peruvians in 16 of the country’s 24 provinces were asked to decide on the consolidation of their regions to create five new “macro-regions”, which would effectively decentralize power from Lima.
Posted inDaily Brief
Bolivia Cancels December Elections
Bolivia’s National Electoral Court has cancelled elections due to take place on 4 December following the failure by Congress to redistribute seats among provinces based on the 2001 census. The elections were called earlier this year following the resignation of President Carlos Mesa in June following months of popular protest. Interim president Eduardo Rodriguez has said he will step down in January even if elections have not taken place.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombia Interest Rates Unchanged
The Colombian Central Bank left the official repo intervention rate unchanged at 6.00% following its latest meeting. The Bank also announced that it expected annual inflation to hit the range of 4.5% to 5.5% set by the government.
Posted inDaily Brief
Banorte Net Profits Up 140%
Mexico’s fourth-largest financial institution, Banorte, has announced net profits of $121.4 million in the third quarter of this year, 140% up on the same period last year and above analysts’ expectations. The results are equivalent to earnings per share of 2.63 pesos, compared with 1.09 pesos for the third quarter of 2004.
Posted inDaily Brief
HSBC Mexico Earnings Rise 40%
HSBC Mexico has reported a 40% year-on-year rise in its net profits for the first nine months of the year. The net profits of $327.7 million exceeded expectations. HSBC Mexico, an affiliate of UK bank HSBC, is Mexico’s fifth-largest financial institution.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexico BBVA Bancomer Q3 Profits Down
Meanwhile, Mexico’s largest bank, Bancomer, a subsidiary of Spanish BBVA, has posted third-quarter net profits of $54.6 million, 4.6% down on last year. This takes the bank’s net profits for the first nine months of 2005 to $552 million, up 34% year on year. BBVA Bancomer contributes about 30% of the total profit of BBVA, and accounts for around 60% of the profit of BBVA’s Latin American operations.