Doing Business in Latin America: Are You There Yet?

European companies learn about investment and trade opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean

As one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, Latin America and the Caribbean offers interesting trade and investment opportunities for Spanish companies seeking to boost their international operations, according to private sectorspecialists from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) 

IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno and Enrique V. Iglesias, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Community, inaugurated the event, “Opportunities with the Private Sector Group of the Inter-American Development Bank”, jointly organized by the Spanish Institute for Commerce (ICEX). More than 150 representatives of Spanish firms gathered at the Bank’s new Europe office in Madrid for the seminar, and were joined by government officials, including Spain’s State Secretary of Trade, as well as representatives of academic institutions.

Bank officials explained how the IDB works with private sector companies of all sizes, providing financing and technical assistance to help them take advantage of the many opportunities for investment that exist in the region and that contribute to economic and social development. They include projects in such areas as infrastructure, energy, transportation, and water and sanitation, tourism development, fishing, agriculture and food processing, information technology, environment, health and life sciences, among others.

The Bank is particularly interested in working with companies seeking to enhance economic and social development in the LAC region, such as those that facilitate access to basic services, that improve the environment, that provide access to credit and that contribute to regional and global integration, among others.

As part of its efforts to help mid-size companies expand into international markets, the IDB also provides financing and guarantees for companies engaged in international trade, and is creating ConnectAmericas, a platform to facilitatelinks between businesses with potential trade partners and investors and provide data on international trade and access to finance. In addition, ConnectAmericas will support the implementation of the SME Iberoamerican Charter approved in the XXII Iberoamerican Summit held in Cadiz on November 17.

During his visit, President Moreno announced that the IDB will provide commercial banks with $70 million for expanding their lines of credit to firms wishing to export or invest abroad, as well as $350 million in guarantees through local banks to companies that participate in international bidding for the provision of services through the IDB’s Trade Finance Facilitation Program.

Moreno signed several colaboration agreements with Spanish and European organizations. The IDB and the EU-LAC Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen ties between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), by sharing knowledge, carrying out joint studies and seminars, and working together to stage EU-LAC Business Summits.

Telefónica, S.A. and the IDB agreed to work together on education, starting with a specific program to ensure universal access to quality education for all Brazilians, and on the issues of sustainable cities, broadband connectivity, business accelerators and citizen security.

The IDB also agreed with the IE Business School to promote sustainable banking in Latin America through scholarships for banking employees through the IDB’s beyondBanking program, and to work together on case studies related to mid-size companies’ efforts to internationalize their operations.

Fundación Santillana and the IDB agreed to carry out and disseminate joint studies on topics related to education,starting with a studyof best practices related to the integration of technology in education, with a specific focus on countries that have performed well on the OECD´s PISA achievement tests.

Fundación MAPFRE also started a partnershipwith the IDB to work on improvingroad safety, and to develop joint projects for youth, art and culture in Latin America.

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BUSINESS CLIMATE IN LATIN AMERICA ROSE TO IT`S HIGHEST LEVEL IN 18 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS..!

according to the indicator released today by a private economic research center named, Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) of Brazil and the University of Munich.

The economic sentiment indicator called Latin America in January stood at 5.5 points above last October's 5.2 points and 5.0 points in January 2012, according to the quarterly survey conducted by the two institutions between 138 specialists from 18 countries.

The indicator was not as high measured from 5.6 points in July 2011, before it fell to 4.4 points in October 2011 as a result of the worsening of the international economic crisis.

Good expectation
According to the study, the business climate rose between October 2012 and January this year, mainly driven by the expectation that the situation will improve, since the evaluation of the current situation deteriorated slightly.

While the indicator called Outlook, which assesses specialists projections for the next six months, up from 5.3 points in October to 6.0 points in January, the Current Situation Indicator, which assesses the situation, down from 5.1 points 4.9 points over the same period.

Although the business climate improved in general in Latin America, in some countries the situation deteriorated * between October last year and January 2013, mainly in Venezuela, where the rate fell from 3.4 to 1.5 points; Ecuador, which fell from 5.0 to 4.0 points, and Bolivia, with a drop of 6.0 to 5.4 points.

In Brazil, the largest regional economy, the Economic Climate Index fell slightly in October from 6.1 points to 5.9 points in January.

Paraguay and Peru last month shared the best rated country status for business, with 7.0 points, followed by Chile (6.6), Uruguay (6.3), Brazil (5.9), Mexico (5.7), Bolivia (5.4), Colombia ( 5.3) and Argentina (5.2).

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PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK PRAISES PERUVIAN ECONOMY SUCCESS FOR TRANSCENDING THEIR OWN BORDERS

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said yesterday a meeting with the ambassador of Peru in the United States, Harold Forsyth, at the headquarters of the international financial organization with the purpose of reviewing the agenda of cooperation between Peru and the Bank.

Jim Yong Kim World Bank President & H. Forsyth Peruvian Embassador in Wshington DC.

"The president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, is conducting a success story that transcends beyond their own borders and enjoying a well-deserved international recognition," said Kim, who was accompanied by Hasan Tuluy, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean region, and Susan Goldmark, director for Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela Bank.

Kim was pleased with the choice of Peru to host the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in 2015, one of the most significant events on the world because it brings together the major economies the planet and has the same importance as the APEC forum.

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LATIN AMERICA - COMMUNITY BUILDING ACROSS BORDERS TO ASSIST EACH-OTHER

Alongside the tentative formal efforts at economic and political integration, people are also increasingly bringing the region together. A recent uptick in intra-regional movement—through travel, study, and immigration—has allowed Latin Americans to get to know each other better, and in the process bind together both their communities and their economies.

Millions of Latin Americans head nearby for their vacations, enjoying Patagonia, Machu Picchu, and the Galapagos Islands, among other places. Brazilians are the most active international travelers (in sheer numbers) with 1.5 million people (30 percent of their travelers) headed to locales in Central or South America. Latin American students are also increasingly studying abroad within the region. More than 50 percent of Chile’s international students were from neighbors (Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador), with most opting to study professions such as business, health, and the social sciences.

Immigration too has shifted. Today nearly two thirds of all South American immigrants come from neighboring countries (compared to just a quarter forty years ago). Argentina and Chile have received the most immigrants, with 70 and 90 percent coming from neighboring countries. Whole communities of Bolivians live in Argentina, Brazilians in Bolivia and Paraguay, and Colombians and Peruvians in Ecuador. Further north, over four hundred thousand Nicaraguans live in Costa Rica.

These large foreign communities can at times cause tensions—such as the half a million Brazilians (nicknamed braziguayos) living in Paraguay. These mostly agricultural workers immigrated in the 1960s, purchasing some of the best land for low prices, earning the envy and at times ire of Paraguayan natives. Ecuadorians have also clashed with the hundreds of thousands of Colombians living within their borders (which they associate with rising crime rates); a Facultad LatinoAmericana de Ciencias Sociales study reported that 64 percent of Ecuadorians held a bad opinion of Colombians.

Along with the size of the flows, the profile of immigrants has also been changing. While once dominated by low skilled laborers seeking better opportunities, at least half of today’s migrants to Chile, Mexico, and Panama have twelve or more years of schooling. 

In response to the changing flows, many countries have adjusted their policies to allow for foreigners to own land (as in the case of Mexico) or prohibiting discrimination on the basis of origin (as in Argentina). Some countries are even allowing foreign nationals to use their national identity cards next door, waving visa restrictions, and allowing social security and other accrued benefits to be transferred home. While only four Latin American countries allowed dual citizenship in 1990, at least eleven do today.

The informal intersections of Latin Americans across the region pressure changes in government policies and drive Latin America’s integration. Assisted by increased travel options, relaxed visa restrictions, and better communication technologies more and more citizens have made the decision to move within the region. Strengthening ties between countries through community networks, Latin America’s people are and will be just as important for regional integration as the formal treaties their governments create.

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COLOMBIA ANNOUNCES THE PACIFIC ALLIANCE COMMERCIAL TRADE AGREEMENT FOR JUNE 2013

It was agreed that on 19 and 20 June 2013 will be the first business Macro meeting of the Pacific Alliance.

The Colombian government announced that for the first half of 2013 will be ready the trade agreement between the countries of the Pacific Alliance: Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile.

Foreign Trade Minister Sergio Diaz-Granados said that this was one of the decisions taken by the Working Groups and the High Level Group (HLG) of the Pacific Alliance, which met between 18 and 20 December in the Colombian city of Cali.

"Given the great strides that have been made at the negotiating table, we hope to have something solid in the middle of next year," the official stressed.

The objective of the agreement is that members of the Pacific Alliance, forming an area of ​​deep integration, where free to ensure the movement of goods, services, capital and people.

"In the most recent table discussions were held regarding the offers tariff and rules of origin, in order to achieve better access of our products to the expanded market of the Alliance," said Minister of Foreign Trade.

He added that the meeting dealt with issues such as Cali "as sanitary, phytosanitary and technical standards with the consolidation of a text of disciplines that reflect the interests of developing countries."

In the meeting it was agreed that on 19 and 20 June 2013 will be the first business Macrorueda Pacific Partnership, organized by agencies promoting their members: Promperú Proinversion Prochile, Proméxico and Proexport ".

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EVOLUTION OF LATIN AMERICA`S ECONOMY

In Latin America the biggest economies are MEXICO & BRAZIL. 
Then follows Colombia & Peru, committed to supporting market-friendly economic policies and both are relatively easy to do business and have well-trained young workforce. Both presidents respectively are making their countries ripe for investment. And Chile has been almost the same good stable economy in latin America and the rest of Latin countries with almost same trajectory as follows:

Mexico, has transformed the most. In the 1980s the manufacturing sector comprised just 10 percent of total exports; today it is over 75 percent. Mexico’s economic diversification and dynamism, especially in the automotive & electronic industries, have held oil at a steady 10-15 percent of exports for the last twenty years, even as oil prices have risen 

Brazil, Over the last forty years has moved away from a heavy reliance on food exports, and manufacturing has steadily risen—peaking at over 50 percent of exports in the 1990s and early 2000s. But the graph below also highlights Brazil’s continuing challenges: commodities have risen as a percentage of exports, leading manufacturing to slip to less than 40 percent of total exports in 2010

Colombia, has followed a similar trajectory; moving away from food production and toward manufacturing with the great potential to develop more and actually faster then other countries in Latin America. What has also increased substantially is oil production, jumping from under 2 percent in 1981 to reach some 60 percent of the country’s exports today. The combination of government incentives and expanding geographic safety suggests this upward trend will continue.

Peru, now is one of the most interesting venues for investment grade worldwide and for the last 12 years has an stable economy, making 38 consecutive months of growth averaging 6% for the last 10 years, Peru`s economy grew this year 6.33% higher than expected, it was led by fishing, construction sectors and Agricultural activity and tourism . Mining and Hydrocarbon has declined in the first 10 months of 2012. Peru is a mining country, but also has changed drastically in the last 20 years for the better. 

Chile, though rightly touted as one of the most open and advanced economies, remains in essence a commodity producer. Some areas have increased their value added—for instance, within food exports is the successful wine industry. But overall, copper dominates, bringing in roughly $ 41 billion a year, or nearly 60 percent of exports. Structurally, not much has changed in the last 30 years.

 Venezuela, has changed, though unlike its neighbors it has reverted to the past. Where manufacturing, food, and ore and metal exports rose steadily during the 1980s and 1990s (to total a combined 20 to 30 percent of exports), under the Chávez government they now comprise less than 7 percent. Over the last fifteen years, food and agricultural production have been wiped out, and oil dominates once again.

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LOOKING BACK AT LATIN AMERICA`S ECONOMY. 2012..

Looking back at the past year, many of the posts on Latin America’s Moment touch on the region’s economic development, and its trade and investment ties with the rest of the world. Here is a recap of some of the main themes.

Overall, 2012 was a year of economic optimism for most Latin American economies. The IMF’s Latin America Economic Outlook report, was quite bullish. And ECLAC announced that Latin America hit an ALL-TIME $150 BILLION HIGH in foreign direct investment, led by Brazil. Also crucial in the region’s economic development were the GROWING NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE.

Brazil’s economy still dominated the headlines, though the positive near consensus faded, as analysts grappled with slow growth. I argue here and here that, while Brazil’s hype may have been initially overdone, the country still boasts a solid consumer base, a relatively high GDP per capita, and a succesful conditional cash program that is helping to pull many into the middle class.

Meanwhile, interest in Mexico’s economy is rising, despite continued insecurity and violence. This has a lot to do with its economic openness, global competitiveness, and close links to the United States. To see the evolution of Mexico’s (and other Latin American countries’) exports

I hope that we all Latin countries will have another successful year for Latin America’s economies in 2013 and happy NEW YEAR 2013 to all.