With the purchase of Grupo Bital, HSBC finally has the anchor it has wanted in Mexico for several years.Meanwhile, the feisty Bital is getting a much-needed boost to its balance sheet.
Category: Regions
So Long to Latin American Samurais
After providing a solid supply of money for Latin American bond issuers, the yen market snapped shut last August. Only the Mexican state electricity company has been able to break in.
No Small Tasks Lie Ahead
Roberto Junguito, Colombia’s new finance minister, has his work cut out for him. He must deal with the country’s budget
deficit, wage fiscal war on the guerillas and grow the
economy.
Resource Rich, Politically Feeble
Trinidad and Tobago has more money than it knows what to do with. A debilitating political deadlock is making dealing
with this abundant liquidity an even greater problem.
Politics Torpedoes Growth
A casualty of the politics surrounding Alejandro Toledo’s first year as president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski succeeded
in growing Peru’s economy, sealing a deal with the IMF and issuing a historic international bond. But the public failed to embrace his free market ideas.
Presidential Promises Falter
President Vicente Fox has been unable to overcome the
political obstacles to many of his vaunted reform plans. Still,Mexico has largely avoided South America’s malaise and remains a regional economic powerhouse.
The Foreigners Take Over
Nearly all Mexico’s banks are foreign-owned now, and the financial system is fully recovered from the financial crash of 1995. But lending remains feebele in a country desperately in need of credit.
Absorbing Extra Currency
Despite having one of the world’s richest oil reserves, Venezuela’s economy must still fight to overcome the effects of an overvalued currency and an unstable business environment.
Down and Out of Fuel
Despite having one of the world’s richest oil reserves, Venezuela’s economy must still fight to overcome the effects of an overvalued currency and an unstable business environment.
