Copper company Codelco posted a banner year in 2004, largely on exports to Asia. CFO Francisco Tomic shares his optimism over what’s ahead in 2005.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Belize’s Rating Cut
Standard & Poor’s cut Belize’s foreign-currency debt rating two levels to CCC, or eight levels below investment grade, citing the country’s increasing debt load and lack of access to financing. S&P has a “negative” outlook on Belize’s rating. Belize faces amortizations this year of $150 million, compared with $139 million in international reserves. The country’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio climbed to 97 percent last year, from 85 percent in 2003.
Posted inMagazine
Betting on Beauty
Panama wants to double its tourism industry revenues in five years. Better organization will be needed to make that plan attainable.
Posted inMagazine
Borrowing at Home
Panama turned to the international markets to pre-finance spending for 2005. But when it’s time to raise more money, it will stay closer to home.
Posted inMagazine
Economic Exiles
A fifth of Mexico’s population now lives abroad. For some smaller Latin American countries, the percentage is even higher. This exodus has grown steadily for years, and the expansion of […]
Posted inMagazine
Free Zone Shortfalls
Panama’s free trade zone is a success, but it needs to invest more to improve infrastructure and security. Nobody is sure where the money will come from.
Posted inMagazine
Pemex Places a Perpetual
Pemex made history last September with a bond that was as unusual as it was successful. Mexico’s state-owned oil company, among Latin America’s most frequent and most sophisticated issuers, raised […]
Posted inMagazine
Local Market Appeal
Although more Panamanian companies are eyeing local capital markets for financing, foreign issuers still dominate the landscape.
Posted inMagazine
On an Upward Track
Panama City gained prominence as Latin America’s premier offshore banking center, but it’s not the only game in town anymore.
Posted inMagazine
Rating Game
Although Panama is tantalizingly close to attaining investment-grade status, an upgrade may elude the country for some time yet.