Colombia’s industrial production for the six months to July this year, excluding coffee processing, rose 2.5% year-on-year. Growth was led by the automotive sector, which grew by 43.2% compared with last year. Of the 48 industrial sub-sectors, 31 recorded growth this year.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Cemex To Make Secondary Share Offering
Mexico’s Cemex, the world’s third-largest cement producer is to make a global secondary share offering of nearly 27 million ADS, with an over-allotment of 3.99 million, to help pay futures contracts and debt obligations. Cemex ADSs are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and are well considered by investors. The company recently announced it expected third-quarter results this year to be up on forecasts.
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Colombia To Choose Telecom Partner By Auction
Following the announcement that Colombia Telecom will not be signing a memorandum of understanding with telecoms giant Telmex of Mexico, the government has said it will continue to look for a strategic partner for the company via a bidding process. Although Telmex has reportedly made the best offer to date for the company, Colombia is keen to open up the field of contenders. An independent valuation of the company is due following recommendations by the country’s Comptroller General.
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Taiwan To Invest $500 Million In Central America
Taiwan has said it plans to invest $500 million over the next five years in Central America. The country announced its plans at the end of the Fifth Taiwan-Central America Summit held in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua. Taiwan says it hopes to encourage private sector companies to come to the region and invest.
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Mexican Cement Group Buys Stake In Bolivian Producer
Mexican cement producer Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) has bought a 46.57% stake in Sociedad Boliviana de Cementos (SOBOCE) in a deal worth $58.2 million. This is GCC’s first investment in Bolivia. SOBOCE has an annual production capacity of 870,000 tonnes of cement.
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Mexico Energy Minister Steps Down
Mexico’s Minister of Energy, Fernando Elizondo, has resigned to pursue a seat in the Senate. This follows the resignation on Monday of Javier Usabiaga, Agriculture Minister, who stepped down in order to stand as the governor of Guanajuato state. Another ministerial post that needs covering is that of Security Minister Ramón Martín Huerta who died in a helicopter crash last week.
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Panama Economy Grows 6.2%
The Panamanian economy expanded by 6.2% in the first six months of this year, as measured by the monthly index of economic activity (IMAE). The most dynamic sectors included fish and seafood exports, agriculture products and tourism. The government has forecast economic growth this year of between 4.5% and 5%, below the 6.1% growth witnessed in 2004.
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PRI Wins in Coahuila State Elections
In its march to regain control of Mexico, the leading opposition party PRI has kept control of the northern province of Coahuila, bordering the US. The party’s candidate, Humberto Moreira won comfortably with an estimated 60% of the vote, despite accusations of foul play. The elections in Coahuila are the last provincial governor elections ahead of those for the president of the country next July. The PRI lost the presidency in Mexico in 2000 after an uninterrupted rule of more than 70 years.
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Uribe Shows Well In Polls
A recent poll in Colombia has indicated that president Alvaro Uribe would win a second term next year if he were to stand for reelection, based on his current approval rating. Uribe received 56% of the votes of those polled against his nearest rival, the Liberal Party candidate Horacio Serpa who polled only 11%, representing an unprecedented show of support for a president in Colombia 10 months from completing his term of office. However, Uribe must still gain the vote of the Constitutional Court to allow him to run for president again.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexico Cuts Benchmark Rate Again
Following a reduction only last month of 0.25 percentage points, Mexico again cut the overnight lending rate, this time to 9.25% from 9.50%. The interest rate cut had been widely expected by analysts. Now that inflation is under control, the government is looking to boost the economy after a long run of interest rate hikes were used to slow growth over the past 18 months. Overnight rates rose from a low of 4% in August 2003 to a high of 9.75% in May this year. The government has forecast economic growth of 3.5% this year, down from the 4.4% seen last year.