Dialling into Costa Rica’s mobile market
By Ronald Buchanan in Mexico City
Costa Rica finally on Tuesday announced the terms of a tender that will open the last frontier of the free market in cellular service in Latin America.
The tender will invite bids for three bandwidths to compete with the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, which currently controls the state monopoly on mobile phones. Continue reading »
Americas markets wrap: Homebuilders and retailers rise on US outlook
Latin American markets were buoyed by today’s better-than-expected US economic data, which boosted risk appetite.
“Concerns about the US economy continue to increase. However, a linear deterioration of US economic data is unlikely”, Benito Berber of Nomura wrote in a note about Mexico’s peso. “If anything, the release of US consumer confidence for August at 53.5 significantly above expectations points to a muddle through scenario in US economic activity.” Continue reading »
CEE markets wrap: Russia holds rates, Poland mulls bank tax
Central and eastern European stocks were mixed on Tuesday, as weak global sentiment combined with some positive data from the region.
Russia’s central bank held its benchmark rate at 7.75 per cent, while Hungary’s forint continued to tumble against the Swiss franc, heightening concerns about whether the country can finance its foreign-denominated debt. Continue reading »
Deal of the day: Posco acquires Daewoo for $2.8bn
By Yukyeong Kim of mergermarket
The world’s third biggest steelmaker, Pohang Iron and Steel Company (Posco), has completed its acquisition of Daewoo International for $2.8bn, three months after being chosen as the preferred bidder for the South Korean trader and resource developer.
The acquisition is the largest deal between two Korean companies and signals the steelmaker’s ambition to expand in Africa and southeast Asia. Continue reading »
Overdue: Brazil chooses venue for World Cup opener
By Andrew Downie in São Paulo
First, the good news: after years of indecision, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has finally confirmed that the city of São Paulo will host the opening game of the 2014 World Cup. In a brand new stadium owned by Corinthians.
Now the bad news. The stadium isn’t built yet – and is unlikely to be ready by Fifa’s 2012 deadline. Continue reading »
The GM Volt in China: (Price) range anxiety?
By Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai and John Reed in London
As General Motors announced the arrival of its long-awaited Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric vehicle in China, there was a feeling that the age of the electric vehicle may finally have dawned.
The Volt – which will be sold in the US from the end of this year, and in China next year – will be among the first in a wave of mass-produced electric cars powered by lithium-ion batteries from global automakers. It’s as if Henry Ford and Thomas Edison got together to design a car: posthumously. But will anyone in China buy it? Continue reading »
The Korea discount: blame the businessmen
Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s dictator, tends to grab the headlines as the root-cause of the “Korea discount”. But unfortunately there’s another factor at play: corporate responsibility.
If Jeffrey Skilling, the former Enron chief executive, was South Korean, you could imagine him back at his desk, taking key decisions. And can shareholders in Korea stop that kind of thing happening? Don’t be silly. Continue reading »
White knight Reliance buys into Oberoi hotels
What does India’s largest private sector oil refining and production group have in common with a five-star luxury hotel company? Nothing.
So it was with surprise this week that the market greeted the entry of Reliance Industries, the oil-focused conglomerate controlled by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, into East India Hotels, the luxury business and resort hotel group controlled by the Oberoi family. Continue reading »
Indian GDP: positive but puzzling
Economists and farmers alike can be grateful for India’s better winter harvests, which helped the country’s Q2 GDP figure to match the consensus – at 8.8 per cent growth year-on-year.
But with some confusing domestic demand data, analysts aren’t sure whether to start tinkering with their growth forecasts. Continue reading »
New York headlines
* Russia’s multi-billion dollar privatization unlikely this year
* NEC to offer cloud computing in China
* Indian economy shows 8.8% growth
* Sony Ericsson launches smartphone for China Mobile
* China Railway discusses high-speed projects Continue reading »
Asia markets wrap: Indian growth up, Foxconn shares tumble
Asian markets fell on Tuesday, with the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan failing to convince investors with responses to their countries’ disappointing recoveries.
However, a boost in manufacturing, trade, transport and services continues to stimulate Indian growth: the statistics office said second-quarter GDP rose 8.8 per cent compared to 2009, up from 8.6 per cent in the first quarter. Continue reading »
Further reading: South Korea, Chinese banks, battleships
Violence casts shadow on Mexican businesses
By Ronald Buchanan in Mexico City
Foreign investors in Mexico have shown no visible signs of flinching at the violence plaguing northern Mexico. Not so much the locals, it would appear.
The Mexican Oil Congress and Expo was being wound up in Mexico City over the weekend after a second postponement caused a change in the original plans to hold the event in the northern gulf port of Tampico. Tampico is in Tamaulipas, the state where 72 migrants were massacred last week. Continue reading »
London headlines
* India’s iEnergizer set to break trend with Aim float
* China Railway discusses high-speed projects
* ONGC says consent necessary for Cairn deal
* Egypt’s food inflation feeds social unease
* Billionaire Ambani’s Reliance invests in luxury Oberoi Hotels Continue reading »
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