Category: Peru

The markets in Peru took a dive yesterday, Tuesday, as it became increasingly clear that former president Alan García would be the most likely candidate to face nationalist Ollanta Humala in a second round of voting for Peru’s next president. With almost 85% of the votes counted, Humala had garnered 30.8%, García 24.7% and Flores 23.6%. Throughout the election campaign, market-friendly conservative Lourdes Flores had been the favorite to battle it out with Humala in a run-off but it looks as if García’s platform of spending succeeded in attracting a larger number of the country’s 25% of swing voters, in particular the younger voters who remember little of García’s previous period in charge. García was president of Peru between 1985 and 1990; by the time he left office, the country was suffering from hyperinflation and rebel insurgency. Interestingly, Flores was well ahead of her rivals in the votes cast abroad: she polled 62.2% against 8.5% for García and 8.0% for Humala.

Attention is focusing on the runners up in the presidential elections in Peru, after Sunday’s polling failed to produce a winning candidate with more than 50% of the vote. The second place in this tightly fought race ensures a place in the second-round run-off. As of late yesterday, Monday, with 76% of the votes counted, the leading candidate was nationalist Ollanta Humala polling 29.75%, followed by former president Alan García on 25% and conservative Lourdes Flores on 24.54%. The markets had widely foreseen a second-round battle between Humala and Flores with Flores the victor. The run-off is slated for May 28 or June 4, according to government officials, allowing time for counting, recounting and challenges in such a close race. Meanwhile, voting for Congressional seats is also unlikely to return a clear majority, with Humala’s Unión por el Perú set to take 25 out of 120; García’s APRA likely to gain 24 and Flores’ Unidad Nacional 19 seats. The remaining seats will be shared between two, possibly three other parties.

More than 16 million Peruvians went to the polls yesterday, Sunday, to decide their new leader for the next five years. They were also electing a new vice president and the 120 members of Congress. Early indications were that none of the front three candidates would secure the more than 50% of the vote needed to avoid a second-round run-off, with populist Ollanta Humala holding off conservative Lourdes Flores, polling 30.9% versus 24.5%, trailed by former president and social democrat Alan García on 23.3%. Despite having very different platforms, there was little to separate the votes of the three leading candidates to become Peru’s new president: and with 25% of the electorate undecided before polling day, surprises are possible. A second-round of voting is slated for 7 May. The new president takes office on 28 July, Peru’s Independence Day.

The leading candidates in Peru’s presidential elections on Sunday are neck and neck in the lead-up to polling date. Conservative Lourdes Flores, the front-runner until last month, has recaptured the lead from populist Ollanta Humala, according to one recent poll. The CPI poll, published Thursday, gave Flores 26.7% of the vote ahead of Humala on 25.9% and former president Alan García on 24.9%. However, with around 25% of the electorate undecided going into election day, the outcome of Sunday’s polls is anything but clear.

Peruvian presidential hopeful and National Party candidate, Ollanta Humala, has overtaken conservative rival Lourdes Flores in the polls for the first time, ahead of elections on April 9. Flores fell back from 31% to 28% of the vote, while Humala rose from 30% to 32%. Humala is running on a platform that proposes limiting foreign investment and introducing higher corporate tax.

UK and Hong Kong-based financial giant HSBC has made a formal application to Peru’s banking superintendency to set up operations in that country. It is thought the bank may be up and running by August this year. Peru currently has 12 banks and the government is open to increasing competition. HSBC had expressed an interest last year in entering Peru’s financial market as part of a move to expand its overall presence in the region. HSBC already operates in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Last week it agreed to buy the assets of Lloyds TSB in Paraguay for $15 million.

After taking control last week of one of the country’s major steel-producer, SiderPeru, the government is to push ahead with its privatization. Last Friday, the Peruvian state investment agency, ProInversión, paid $53 million for 56.04% of the company, based in northern Peru, following the failure of private owners Sider Corp to meet investment obligations. In 1996, Siderperu was bought by Sider Corp, a group including Acerco and Wiese Inversiones Financieras, part of Banco Wiese Sudameris. The Group has only paid $110.7 million of the $186.2 million originally agreed with the government, while its outstanding debt, including payments, have risen to $237.3 million.

Lourdes Flores, conservative presidential candidate and the front-runner for next month’s elections in Peru, has lost further ground to rival Ollanta Humala of the Peruvian Nationalist Party, according to the latest opinion polls. Humala’s share of the vote has risen from 23.9% in January to 25.5%, while Flores’ backing has fallen from 37.8% to 34.1% over the same period. Peru’s elections are slated to take place on April 9.

Peru has set the date of March 31 to auction its second fixed-line telecoms license in a bid to open up the market to competition. The 25-year license will cover fixed-line telephony and internet access for Lima and Callao. Currently there is only one operator – an affiliate of Spanish company Telefónica, which has dominated the market since 1994. State investment company ProInversión is managing the sale. Interested bidders include Telefónica, Americatel and Millicom.

Petroleum exploration company Pluspetrol Peru Corp, says it is planning to issue local currency bonds worth up to $250 million. The company said it would likely issue a first tranche ahead of the country’s elections on April 9. Pluspetrol Peru Corp is the local subsidiary of Argentine oil company Pluspetrol. It oversees exploration and extraction in the Camisea natural gas field in southern Peru.