Daily Archives: August 2, 2011

India in Latin America: a new bric on the block?

August 2, 2011 11:43 pm by Andrés Schipani
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Compared to Chinese supermarkets, it is still almost impossible to find Indian-run grocery stores around the streets of Buenos Aires, Mexico City or São Paulo.

But that could soon change as India steps up its investment in Latin America. From India’s Jindal Steel, which poured over $2bn in iron ore extraction in Bolivia in 2008 to ONGC Videsh, which together with a consortium of other investors acquired a stake in one of Venezuela’s state oil companies for $2bn last year, India is emerging as a major trading partner and investor in the continent. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Asia, Global, India, LatAm |

Mexican biofuel: ready for take-off?

August 2, 2011 10:30 pm by Andrés Schipani
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Until not long ago it was hailed “the miracle crop”, blessed with unlimited potential for an energy-thirsty world. Jatropha, a biofuel crop loved for its ability to grow in areas not suitable for food, is native to Central America and seemed like a blessing for hot and dry places with high poverty levels, such as certain parts of Mexico. But while the crop has had some initial success, it fell out fashion after a few years when it appeared that it was not as green as some environmentalists and energy experts thought it would be.

However, Jatropha may get a second lease on life. On Monday, Aeroméxico used the biofuel for the first time to power a long haul commercial flight from Mexico City to Madrid. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in LatAm, Mexico |

Venezuela: beautiful but worth the hassle?

August 2, 2011 6:46 pm by Benedict Mander
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beyondbrics on the beachThe world’s tallest waterfall tumbles from one of the spectacular table-top mountains in southern Venezuela that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write The Lost World. With a 1750-mile Caribbean coastline, Venezuela also has countless paradise beaches, some of which must rank amongst the most beautiful on the planet.

Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in LatAm, Venezuela |

Belarus: is that a threat or a promise?

August 2, 2011 4:53 pm by Jan Cienski
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When your back is against the wall, any help at all, no matter how unusual or unexpected, can be very welcome.

That’s the situation of Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, struggling with twin crises of political unrest set off after December’s allegedly fraudulent election that gave him almost 80 per cent of the vote, and economic turmoil caused by a growing balance of payments crisis. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Belarus, Europe |

Indonesia: getting there

August 2, 2011 3:30 pm by Jonathan Wheatley
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Ports: ripe for development

Is Indonesia on a roll? The titles of two recent guest posts on beyondbrics – Indonesia, the next big thing and Indonesia will run and run – suggest it is.

In a video interview for beyondbrics, Mari Pangestu, trade minister, is almost as bullish. She is confident, for example, that Indonesia is attracting the investment it needs both in manufacturing and in its traditional commodities sectors. But she also recognises the country’s challenges: the risk of a global slowdown, for example, and the need to invest more in infrastructure. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Asia, Indonesia |

Towering trouble for Mukesh Ambani

August 2, 2011 2:50 pm by James Fontanella-Khan
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Antilia houseMukesh Ambani’s lavish skyscraper home could be brought down to earth, as the 2003 acquisition of the land on which India’s richest man has built his 27-storey ‘palace in the air’ could end up being probed by the country’s top anti-corruption watchdog.

The Maharashtra state government has sought the Home Department’s advice on whether to order an investigation into the allegedly illegal purchase of the land used to build ‘Antilia’, the Ambani’s family residence.

This isn’t the first time the dispute has popped up either. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in India |

India: How low can growth go?

August 2, 2011 1:51 pm by James Lamont
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C. Rangarajan’s step back from India’s ambitious economic growth forecasts may be the first of many. This week, the prime minister’s chief economic adviser said India’s growth in the current fiscal year would fall to 8.2 per cent, from earlier projections of 9 per cent.

Candidly, he admitted the resilience India had shown through the global financial crisis had not withstood rising food prices, falling investment and distracting high profile corruption scandals. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in India |

Russia: tough guys behind a hard sell

August 2, 2011 1:00 pm by Courtney Weaver
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Trust National Bank was a midsized Russian lender with a big problem. Created out of the remnants of Menatep Bank – a $29bn organisation that went bust during the 1998 Russian financial crisis and saw its former owner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, imprisoned in Siberia – Trust wanted to increase its popularity and brand recognition.

As Dmitry Chukseyev, the bank’s vice-president of communications, recounts, there was just one man for the job. And that man was Bruce Willis. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Russia |

Vladimir Antonov goes for the gold

August 2, 2011 12:11 pm by Ivana Kottasová
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Gold mine in KyrgyzstanAfter the European Investment Bank blocked his multi-million investment in Saab Automobile, Vladimir Antonov needed a new idea of where to put his money. Gold was evidently the answer.

According to the Russian press, Antonov’s Finasta Investments, together with the Russian mining group Almazintech, will invest $400 million to acquire a gold mine in Kyrgyzstan. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Europe, Russia |

Formosa Group: ablaze but still strong

August 2, 2011 12:09 pm by Robin Kwong
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Wang Yung Ching

The late Wang Yung-ching (pictured), founder of Taiwan’s Formosa Group, was hailed as a “God of Management” because of his strict attention to detail and forceful way of doing business and addressing problems.

It is therefore hard to imagine that it is the same Formosa Group that now faces government-enforced plant shutdowns after a fire broke out at its petrochemical plant over the weekend – the seventh fire and eighth major plant accident this year. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Taiwan |

New York headlines

August 2, 2011 11:56 am by beyondbrics
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* South Korea bolsters gold reserves

* Syria steps up attacks on Sunnis

* Fears rise as global output stalls

* Competition easing, consolidation seen in India’s mobile market: Mittal

* Kirin pays $2.5bn to buy Brazil’s Schincariol

* African Minerals seals $1.5bn China deal Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

China looks warily at US debt deal

August 2, 2011 10:52 am by Simon Rabinovitch
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Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L) and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shake hands at the US Department of State on January 5, 2011 in Washington, DC.With the United States set to avoid a default thanks to a last-minute debt deal, its biggest foreign creditor might be expected to breathe a sigh of relief.

But China has been remarkably consistent in its view throughout the debacle, and it sees little reason to celebrate. From the vantage of Beijing, the dollar has been saved today, but its future remains as precarious as ever. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in China |

Further reading: free lunch

August 2, 2011 9:53 am by beyondbrics
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Tuesday’s top picks from the beyondbrics team: why it doesn’t matter who wins the presidential elections in Russia, what Turkey needs to do to gain a rightful place in Europe and a referendum on free school lunches. Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

Burma: getting back on the map

August 2, 2011 9:01 am by Tim Johnston
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South-east Asia has a new challenger on the tourism block: Burma.

The ministry of hotels and tourism announced in June that arrivals were up almost 25 per cent for the first five months of the year, statistics that are supported by anecdotal evidence. A traveller looking for a last-minute room in Rangoon last week found the first hotel he tried fully booked – and this is the low season. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Myanmar |

London headlines

August 2, 2011 5:58 am by beyondbrics
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* US set for debt deal after vote victory

* Competition easing, consolidation seen in India’s mobile market: Mittal

* Kirin pays $2.5bn to buy Brazil’s Schincariol

* African Minerals seals $1.5bn China deal

* GE to sell container leasing arm for $2.5bn Continue reading »

Posted in Global |
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