Guest post: LatAm’s Pacific Pumas

May 20, 2013 7:49pm by beyondbrics

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By Samuel George of the Bertelsmann Foundation

They come by it honestly. Much like their European relatives, Latin American leaders have a sweet tooth for the summit, the annual meeting and the commission. Lofty goals and promises of solidarity are sealed with vigorous handshakes, bear hugs and kisses on the cheek. But beyond the ubiquitous photos of smiling presidents, few concrete achievements emerge from these gatherings.

In theory, inchoate integration projects abound, from the regional Mercosur to the continental Unasur. In fact, the dream of a more unified Latin American has progressed little since Simon Bolívar crisscrossed the Andes in the early 19th century. This could be changing. Continue reading »

Tags: guest post, Pacific Pumas Posted in Chile, Colombia, LatAm, Mexico, Peru | Permalink

Peru: a new kind of corporate tax

May 17, 2013 12:00am by Naomi Mapstone

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As Google, Starbucks and Amazon have learned to their detriment, companies that take advantage of legal tax-avoidance schemes such as the “Dutch sandwich” and the “double Irish” are right up there with bankers in the public’s estimation.

Peru’s tax office, Sunat, has found a way to help make the medicine go down, it seems, giving companies the option of paying part of their tax bill in the form of regional infrastructure works in some of the countries’ poorest regions. Continue reading »

Tags: Peru infrastructure, Peru taxation Posted in LatAm, Peru | Permalink

Spain’s economic crisis: as seen through remittance flows

May 2, 2013 7:30pm by Naomi Mapstone

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Spain’s economic crisis is writ large in the Inter-American Development Bank’s latest statistics on remittance flows to Latin America.

For years, thousands of Bolivians, Ecuadoreans and Colombians have been among those to seek work in Spain, legally or illegally. Whether young educated professionals, or poor maids, cleaners and construction labourers, these workers could see the advantages of saving Euros that would magically multiply back home into pesos or dollars or bolivianos. Continue reading »

Tags: remittances Posted in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, LatAm, Mexico, Peru | Permalink

Peru: rolling back on indigenous rights?

May 1, 2013 8:29pm by Naomi Mapstone

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One day Ollanta Humala, Peru’s president, is unnerving investors with a hankering for state-run enterprise, the next he is making it easier for miners to push through projects despite community opposition.

According to Reuters, Humala is on the verge of reneging on his key election pledge to give Andean indigenous communities the right to better consultation over mining projects near their homes. Continue reading »

Tags: mining, Peru economy, Peru mining Posted in LatAm, Peru | Permalink

Beefing up PetroPeru… with Repsol?

Apr 30, 2013 8:50pm by Naomi Mapstone

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Ollanta Humala, Peru’s president, likes to keep everyone on their toes when it comes to his ideology.

Having swapped his Hugo Chávez-esque rhetoric for an electorally palatable, Brazilian-inspired centre-left script as easily as if he was changing t-shirts, Humala has once again rattled investors with the suggestion that state-run PetroPeru should get back into oil and gas production by buying Repsol’s assets. Continue reading »

Tags: oil & gas, PetroPeru, Repsol Posted in LatAm, Peru | Permalink

Colombia’s Grupo Sura buys into BBVA Peru pension unit

Apr 23, 2013 8:20pm by Naomi Mapstone

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Grupo Sura of Colombia has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Peru’s BBVA Horizonte pension fund for $514m.

Sura, which snapped up ING’s Latin American pensions assets in 2011 for $3.85bn and already controls another Peruvian pension fund, Integra, named Profuturo AFP, controlled by Scotiabank, as its strategic partner in the deal. Continue reading »

Tags: BBVA, Grupo Sura, LatAm pension funds Posted in Colombia, LatAm, Peru | Permalink

Chile suspends Barrick Gold mine

Apr 11, 2013 9:01pm by beyondbrics

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By Jude Webber and Naomi Mapstone

Another mining project in a minerals-rich Andean country has been hit by another environmental/indigenous complaint. Digging up precious metals as a way of achieving economic prosperity, especially in areas of outstanding natural beauty, has never been so fraught.

The latest casualty is the Chilean side of Barrick Gold’s Pascua-Lama project, which promises to be one of the world’s biggest gold mines. Continue reading »

Tags: Barrick Gold, gold, mining, mining protests Posted in Argentina, Chile, LatAm, Peru | Permalink

Guest post: the Pacific Alliance and why it matters

Apr 8, 2013 7:08pm by beyondbrics

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By Jorge Rosenblut of Endesa Chile

In January I had the honor to attend a summit of the European Union and the Community of Latin-American and Caribbean Nations in Santiago, Chile. As with many such meetings, the 45 heads of state and prime ministers captured the attention of the international media. But what went almost unnoticed was a seismic shift in Latin American integration — a group of four countries that stood together in what promises to be a historic breakthrough for the region. Continue reading »

Tags: guest post, Pacific Alliance Posted in Chile, Colombia, Global, LatAm, Mexico, Peru | Permalink

Peru intensifies currency fight

Mar 27, 2013 9:51pm by Naomi Mapstone

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For the eighth time in 10 months, Peru’s central bank has raised deposit requirements on dollar-denominated accounts to stem the flow of hot money into its fast-growing economy and dampen currency appreciation. Continue reading »

Tags: banking, currency war, Peru sol Posted in LatAm, Peru | Permalink

Going cuckoo for LatAm cocoa

Mar 19, 2013 11:42pm by Naomi Mapstone

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“Chocolate” and “shortage” should never appear in the same sentence.

But as the Chinese say, in every crisis, there is opportunity.

And as Chinese taste buds are one of the biggest new drivers of global cocoa demand, it’s apt that a merchant bank focused on trade between China and Latin America has identified cocoa as a “very good bet” for long-term investors. Continue reading »

Tags: cocoa Posted in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, LatAm, Peru, Venezuela | Permalink

Peru’s capital markets “scarcely liquid” say finance minister

Mar 19, 2013 8:26pm by Andres Schipani

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Peru is typically grouped with Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Chile as one of Latin America’s high-growth economies, a darling of international investors. But how easy is it to invest in? Not easy at all, says Luis Miguel Castilla, Peru’s finance minister.

“Our diagnosis is that our own capital market is poorly developed; not deep; scarcely liquid,” he tells beyondbrics. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, capital markets, equities, Peru capital markets, regulation Posted in LatAm, Peru | Permalink

Peru microlender expands into Mexico

Mar 14, 2013 7:29pm by Naomi Mapstone

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Peru’s Grupo ACP, the non-profit majority owner of Mibanco, has continued its aggressive regional expansion with the opening of its first bank in Mexico.

Forjadores de Negocios, a Mexican microlender targeting women, opened its doors as a bank for the first time this month, with ACP as a majority shareholder. Continue reading »

Tags: banking, Grupo ACP, microfinance Posted in LatAm, Mexico, Peru | Permalink

Peru: The South Koreans are coming

Mar 4, 2013 7:23pm by Naomi Mapstone

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A president could use up a lot of time making the rounds of ambassadors’ national day celebrations.

But there is one diplomatic soirée that Ollanta Humala, Peru’s president, and his wife Nadine, never miss – that of South Korea. While much has been made of sizeable investments in resource-rich Peru by China, South Korea, too, has been rapidly increasing its footprint here. Continue reading »

Tags: South Korea-LatAm, South Korea-Peru, South-South Posted in Asia, LatAm, Peru, South Korea | Permalink

Vote buying in Latin America

Feb 12, 2013 7:45pm by beyondbrics

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By John Paul Rathbone and Keith Fray

Why did Hugo Chávez win last October’s presidential election so resoundingly? One simple answer is that he spent his way to re-election. In the run-up to the vote, government spending increased by a whopping 25 per cent, and that’s in real terms. No wonder Venezuela is now suffering from a yawning fiscal deficit and has just devalued.

But what about the rest of the region? After so many decades of populist-fuelled booms and busts, has it finally brought the political-cycle to heel? Beyondbrics wrapped a cold towel around its head and examined the statistics. Not every country passed. Continue reading »

Tags: LatAm currencies, LatAm economy, LatAm politics, vote buying Posted in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, LatAm, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela | Permalink

Peru: minting new millionaires

Feb 5, 2013 8:49pm by Naomi Mapstone

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Source: Jockey Plaza

Millionaires might seem like chump change in this age of trillion-dollar deficits and billion-dollar bailouts.

But in Peru, new millionaires are just another indicator of the kind of strong economic growth that prompted the International Monetary Fund to brand the Andean economy shock-resistant. A reverse canary-down-the-mine, if you will. Continue reading »

Tags: millionaires, Peru economy Posted in LatAm, Peru | Permalink

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