Foreign banks have bought a substantial chunk of Colombia’s banking system as they have in most other Latin American markets. Foreign-owned banks now account for 42% of the country’s financial […]
Category: Regions
Posted inMagazine
FDI Bolsters Bolivian Economy
Foreign direct investment has flowed into Bolivia at a faster rate than in any other Latin American country since the mid-1990s. In 1998, almost $900 million entered the country, equivalent […]
Posted inMagazine
Carlos Slim Slams Banacci
Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria received some useful moral support from Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest and most successful businessman, in its bid to take over the country’s second-largest bank, Bancomer. […]
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Consortium To Power Metals Producer
Alstom, the French-British power contractor, and Sithe Energies won a $300 million contract to build a power plant in Mexico for Industrias Peñoles, the world’s biggest silver producer. Alstom and […]
Posted inMagazine
Going Local for Longer-Term Loans
With inflation in check and a modest debt repayment schedule, Mexico wants to develop its internal debt market with fixed-rate bonds. Is the market ready to assume the risk?
Posted inMagazine
Imsa Buys Steel Venture
Mexico’s steelmaker Imsa is buying the steel division of Australia’s Broken Hill Propietary for about $230 million. Imsa already makes auto batteries and construction equipment in the US. Imsa recently […]
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A Clean Balance Sheet
Bancolombia has gained the confidence of international investors and cleaned up its balance sheet. Now the bank must prove it can thrive in Colombia’s feeble economy and fend off foreign competition.
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France Telecom Swaps Shares
France Télécom has swapped its voting shares in Telmex, Mexico’s largest telephone company, for non-voting shares. The deal is part of a plan to make it easier to begin selling […]
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Glorified, but not Glorious
Rogelio Ramírez de la O, a Mexican economist, believes the international press and finanical community have exaggerated the accomplishments of President Ernesto Zedillo. De la O argues that in spite of his economic achievements, Zedillo has failed to create a new economic framework for Mexico and has left masses of workers outside the rising tide of global capital flows.
Posted inMagazine
Mexican Money Supply
Mexico’s central bank has won an outstanding reputation for executing sound monetary policy. Rarely has the central bank’s monetary expansion deviated from the path it has laid out each year. […]