UPDATE (3/23/20):

Dear Readers,

Just as we went to press with our first quarter edition of LatinFinance Magazine, the world, not just financial markets, took a dramatic turn in response to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. We are both a print and digital publisher, and the online edition reflects what is in print. Our cover story focus on green financing is a critical look at an important topic, one that will not become outdated by the present crisis and perhaps takes on greater meaning as we see the impact of reduced travel and production on the environment. Will some of those changes remain? We’ll keep watch to see what happens. Other areas of the magazine are, as with any quarterly publication, a reflection of what was a reasonable view of the world just a few weeks ago. That’s how fast this crisis is developing. We trust you will understand this and take into consideration when you read the stories and the comments from experts we have interviewed that there was life before COVID-19. There will be life after too, once we pull through. Perhaps we will find ourselves just a bit more humble, definitely smarter and certainly better informed. Our virtual newsroom will continue to provide our expanding readership with relevant unbiased news as fast as possible.

Be well and stay well,

Daniel Bases
Managing Editor

Original editor’s letter:

Dear Reader,

Whether you believe strongly that climate change is a real threat to the planet or not, there is simply no denying that selling assets with the environment as a core consideration is a booming area of the financial markets. It is having a profound impact on how capital is being raised in Latin America, and around the world.

What makes an investment “green” is still not a settled question. Amy Guthrie lays out how this market is finding its way into investment portfolios, institutional and retail alike. Rodrigo Amaral unpacks how green bonds are losing their exotic nature and becoming mainstream sources of funding, even in the top greenhouse gas producing nation in the world: China.

Continuing on the innovation theme, Vinod Sreeharsha looks at how Mexico, the region’s second largest economy, is becoming the fintech market to watch this year, especially in the digital payments sector.

In Colombia, the host of this year’s Inter-American Development Bank Annual Meeting, Lucien Chauvin dissects how President Iván Duque’s government is pushing to close the gap of weak infrastructure in a nation that is drawing more and more interest from international investors.

And finally, Charles Newbery profiles our Finance Minister of the Year winner, Paulo Guedes of Brazil. While a political novice, Guedes helped pull off what others over decades were unable to accomplish: pension reform. Guedes was the near universal choice among analysts, economists, bankers and LatinFinance Daily Brief readers for the top spot.

Enjoy!

Daniel Bases

Managing Editor