Colombia Dec Car Sales Up 38% On Year; 2010 Sales Set Record
For 2010, vehicle sales reached 253,869, the most ever sold in a calendar year and a 37% jump from the 185,129 sold in Colombia in 2009. Read Article
Section » Business
Bolivia offers perks to oil prospectors
Bolivia is offering new perks to oil prospecting firms to speed the momentum of operations aimed at finding substantial hydrocarbon reserves. Companies that invest and succeed in finding commercially viable oil or natural gas deposits will have their cash reimbursed. Read Article
Venezuela may purchase Azerbaijani oil
Venezuela may purchase additional volumes of oil from Azerbaijan to ensure the contract with Belarus to supply up to 10 million tons a year, the Belarusian agency BelTA quoted Ambassador of Venezuela to Belarus, Americo Diaz Nunez. Read Article
Peru, government creates two new private conservation areas
The Peruvian government has announced the creation of two new private conservation areas that will help develop eco-tourism and protect threatened flora and fauna species.National Service of Natural Protected Areas (Sernanp) said Selva Botánica and Herman Dantas have been declared private conservation areas (ACPs in Spanish) for a ten-year period during which the owners will […]
Peru, grape exports increase
Peru’s grape exports between October and 2010 reached 53,000 tons, and are expected to register a 30 percent growth by April, when the current campaign ends, the Table Grape Producers Association (Provid) reported Wednesday. Peru’s grape campaign begins in October of every year and ends in April of the following year. Read Article
Investments in energy projects to exceed US$5 billion in 2011
Peru’s Energy and Mines Ministry (MEM) reported Wednesday that investments in energy projects, which include electricity and of hydrocarbons, will total a bit over US$5 billion this year. “I think that we’ll reach nearly US$ 2.5 billion of investment in the electricity sub sector. In theory, in the entire energy sector we can have a […]
Peru exceeds Chile in number of approved environmental projects
Peru exceeds Chile in number of approved environmental projects in the mining sector during 2010 with 267 projects against 62 projects from the Chilean country. Read Article
Iran Plans to Send Trade Delegation to Brazil
Head of Iran-Brazil Friendship Association Mir-Qassem Mo’meni said a large delegation of Iranian businessmen are due to visit Brazil in mid February in a bid to study market potentials and interest in Iranian products in the Latin American country. Read Article
Nicaragua, lobster divers in trouble
Edgard Walters, who belongs to the Association of Disabled and Active Divers of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, has been in a wheelchair since 2003, when he made his last dive for lobster in the waters of the Caribbean. Read Article
Resilient Plants Could Hold Key to Adapting Agriculture
A vision of “the Apocalypse, everything burnt, turned black from ashes and smoke,” was what photographer Mila Petrillo saw when she returned in October to what had been her Eden in the Brazilian municipality of Alto Paraiso, 230 km from Brasilia. Read Article
Venezuela, no sales tax hike in Venezuela
Venezuela’s government will not increase its sales tax as had been expected thanks to high global oil prices, President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday. Read Article
Mexico, Dos Bocas port reopens
Mexico reopened the last of its three main oil ports on the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, the government said. The Dos Bocas port closed Sunday due to bad weather but was reopened on Tuesday, while Mexico’s two biggest export ports closed and reopened on Monday. Read Article
Alcatel reaches settlement in Costa Rica bribe scandal
French telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent agreed to pay $137 million last week to settle a foreign bribery investigation spearheaded by the U.S. Justice Department over illegal payments made to Costa Rica, Honduras, Taiwan and Malaysia. Former Alcatel officials paid an estimated $9.6 million in bribes to Costa Rican officials, including former President Miguel Angel Rodriguez (1998-2002), […]
Latin America links increase with United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi: A few years ago, only two Latin American countries had diplomatic missions in the UAE but that number is steadily growing, Venezuelan Ambassador to the UAE told Gulf News. Only Argentina and Brazil had embassies in Abu Dhabi a few years ago, but at least six more Latin American countries opened their diplomatic […]
LAN Firms up Commitment to Order 50 A320 Family Aircraft
LAN Airlines, one of Latin America’s leading passenger and cargo airlines, signed a firm order for 50 new eco-efficient Airbus A320 Family aircraft, making it the largest single airline order for Airbus in Latin America. Read Article
Argentina thieves tunnel into Buenos Aires bank
Bank robbers in Argentina have tunnelled into a vault and emptied more than 100 safety deposit boxes, police say. The robbery in Buenos Aires was only detected when bank staff returned to work after the new year weekend. Since the 1991 financial crisis, many residents in Argentina have kept cash in safety deposit boxes. Read […]
Goldman Sachs Gives Gol, Tam Airlines Buy Ratings
Goldman Sachs gave buy ratings to Brazilian carriers Gol Linhas Aereas Sa and Tam Sa , as Latin America’s middle class expands further amid strong economic activity. “Less than a third of Brazilian families are potential air travelers today,” the financial services firm said in note to clients. Read Article
Latin social network firm Quepasa closing in on $15M funding
West Palm Beach, FL-based Quepassa Corp. (OTC:BB: QPSA), which owns Quepasa.com, one of the world’s largest multi-linqual Lation social networks online, ha raised $13.15 million of $15 million equity offering, according to a regulatory filing. Quepasa.com, along with sister site Corazones.com serves its users in the U.S., Mexico, Latin America and the world in three […]
Brazil 2010 vehicle sales rise to record
Sales of cars and light trucks in Brazil rose to a fourth consecutive annual record in 2010, underscoring a boom in lending that has made Latin America’s largest economy a top market for global automakers. Sales jumped 10.6 percent in 2010 from 2009 to 3.33 million units, a source with knowledge of the figures told […]
Evo Morales reverses fuel price hike after protests in Bolivia
Following a wave of angry protests across the country, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales revoked a decree that lifted fuel subsidies and caused price hikes of up to 82%. In a message late Jan. 31, Morales said he had decided to rescind the decree after meeting with labor and indigenous leaders who convinced him that the […]
Ecuador foreign investment down $800 million
Resources from abroad and are intended for country’s productive apparatus declined during 2010. Business Committee estimates Ecuador (EC), Ecuador has lost $ 800 million through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). EWC, said: “The investment was one of the worst performances in the national economy. There was a registered negative balance of $ 300 million compared to […]
Chile can’t keep up with demand for salt from frozen Europe
As a result of the cold front affecting Europe, Chile’s Sociedad Punta de Lobos (SPL) —salt producer and exporter—is working at full capacity to export salt destined primarily for Belgium, Holland, Germany and France. Read Article
Mitsubishi To Launch Its Electric Car First in Costa Rica
Costa Rica will be the first country in Americas to have the Mitsubishi Motors electric car called iMiEV, according to the local Mitsuubishi distributor, Veinsa. Veinsa’s Ariel Aizenman said Costa Rica was chosen to make this release in the Americas, even first that in the United States because of its environmental record, his concern for […]
Argentina, Women now earn more than Men
The Permanent Household Survey Indec found that the median earnings of men stood in the third quarter at $ 2,000 per month, while the female was $ 1,500. In the first case(Men) required to work 44 hours per week and the second(Women) only 32 hours. Read Article
Esco unit gets Mexican utility order
Esco Technologies Inc. said Monday that Mexico’s Federal Commission of Electricity (CFE) issued an additional purchase order for power-line technology through its Aclara PLS Inc. unit. Read Article
Azerbaijan to supply oil to Belarus for Venezuela
Azerbaijan has agreed to supply crude oil to Belarus on behalf of Venezuela and, in return, the Latin American country will provide oil to meet Azerbaijan’s export commitments to the United States, state energy company SOCAR said. Read Article
Minimum Wage Ecuador – increases January 1, 2010
Lahora.com.ec reported that the Ecuadorian government passed a 10 percent minimum salary raise for employees beginning January 1, 2011. The current base salary is $240.00 a month. The increase is to be $24.00 settling the base monthly salary at $264.00. Workers to be included are both in the private and public sector. The raise also […]
Bolivia, Chinese telecommunications supplier fined
Bolivia has fined Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier Huawei $8 million for breach of contract, officials said. Public Works Minister Walter Delgadillo said Bolivian state telecommunications provider Entel collected on Huawei’s performance bond after the Chinese company failed to install equipment on schedule, Fides radio reported Tuesday on its web site. Read Article
Banks have 180 days to divest their holdings in financial groups
A correction to a “material error” in the Organic Law for the Financial System was published in the Official Gazette dated December 21. The law forces banks to carry out a financial corporate divestiture, that is, to reduce the structure that currently allows them to gather under one corporation a bank, an insurance company and […]
Referendum will decide whether to continue bullfighting in Ecuador
Convinced that receive the rejection of economic groups, the President of the Republic ratified on Saturday during the Citizen Link 201, emitted from the Plaza San Francisco, that the Ecuadorian people decide by referendum whether the events bullfights are still carried out in the country. Read Story
Chilean airline opts for secure upgrade
Chile’s LAN airline has placed a record purchase order with Airbus for 50 medium-range passenger jets in an acquisitions program aimed at giving passengers confidence Latin American air transportation is safe and secure. Read Article
A French Museum Inspires a Mexican Chair
Casamidy is based in San Miguel de Allende, a bastion of colonial Mexico, but many of the company’s furniture designs are drawn from other cultures. Its new Hiver Opera side chair is an example. Read Article
Why Bolivia stood alone in opposing the Cancún climate agreement
Why Bolivia stood alone in opposing the Cancún climate agreementWe were accused of being obstructionist, obstinate and unrealistic. But we feel an enormous obligation to set aside diplomacy and tell the truth Diplomacy is traditionally a game of alliance and compromise. Yet in the early hours of Saturday 11 December, Bolivia found itself alone against […]
Chile To Sell Stakes In Four Water Utilities For $1.6 Billion
The Chilean government will sell its minority stakes in four water utilities and expects to fetch a total of $1.6 billion, the Finance and Economy Ministers said Wednesday at a joint press conference. Read Article
China signs Venezuela investment plans
THREE state-owned Chinese companies have agreed to invest some $40b in oil and gas projects in Venezuela over the coming years. The deal, which was struck between Venezuela’s oil minister Rafael Ramirez and China’s v ice premier Li Keqiang at a meeting in Qatar, represent at least $40b dollars that will be invested during a […]
Venezuela’s liquid forex reserves fall to lowest level in nine years
According to data provided by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), liquid external assets, that is, US dollars deposited in bank accounts or in foreign currency instruments that are immediately available to cover imports, pay debt and meet the demand of foreign currency, have plummeted. Read Article
LAN Argentina flight attendants on strike
Flight attendants are on strike at LAN Argentina, causing delays and cancellations of about 30 flights a day. The strike affects all LAN Argentina flights out of the domestic and international airports in Buenos Aires. Read Article
China snaps up Brazilian power distributors
China’s State Grid has bought seven Brazilian power distributors for $US1 billion ($A1.01 billion), the latest in a string of Chinese takeovers of South American energy assets betting on the region’s fast growth. Read Article
Chevron claims forged signatures in Ecuador lawsuit
Chevron Corp said litigation against the firm in an Ecuadorian court should be terminated because a forensic specialist discovered many forged signatures on the document that initially authorized the legal action. “The Ecuadorian authorities cannot continue to ignore the mounting evidence of fraud in the Lago Agrio litigation without violating their duties under the Ecuadorian […]
Community Currencies Offer Refuge from Economic Forces
Túmin, which means “money” in the Totonaca indigenous language, is a community currency now circulating among 80 vendors selling their products at an alternative market in the town of Espinal, in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz. Read Article
Argentina gov’t allows fuel prices to rise
Argentina gave energy companies the go-ahead on Tuesday to hike prices at gas stations, reversing a decision from months ago that ordered them to roll back price increases. Read Article
Mexico Pays Boeing $1B to Build Satellites for Communications, Security
Boeing will team up with the Mexican government and a rival supplier for $1 billion to build a three-satellite system and two ground sites for use in the Central American country’s civil communications and national security. The Chicago-based defense contractor will create the system, dubbed Mexsat, to help the Mexican government achieve secure communication for […]
Police raid German gunmaker over Mexico arms supplies
Stuttgart – German police searched the offices of Heckler and Koch, a German manufacturer of premium firearms, on Tuesday over suspicions that its exports of rifles to Mexico may break German arms-export laws, prosecutors in Stuttgart said. German law forbids unlicensed exports to zones of conflict. Read Article
International Hotels Grows in Latin America
InterContinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG – Snapshot Report), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, continues to expand its footprint in Latin America with its recent opening at Maracaibo in Venezuela. The hotel features 14,500 square feet of meeting space including 252 rooms, 300 self-contained parking spaces, and ball-room as well as guest […]
Helibras delivers the first three Eurocopter EC725 helicopters for the Brazilian Armed Forces
Eurocopter’s Helicópteros do Brasil (Helibras) subsidiary today delivered the initial three EC725s for Brazil’s armed forces, marking a key milestone in the program to supply 50 of these medium-sized, multi-role helicopters – which will lead to in-country production of the rotary-wing aircraft. These first three helicopters were provided in a standard configuration and will undergo […]
Brazilian Hygiene Company Purchases Matecorp
Hypermarcas, the largest Brazilian maker of personal hygiene products, said it would buy pharmaceutical company Mantecorp for 2.5 billion reais ($1.5 billion), a deal that will make it the country’s second-largest drugmaker. The Sao Paulo-based company said in a regulatory filing late on Sunday that 600 million reais would be paid in cash and the […]
Pentair to Buy Brazilian Water Filter Business
Pentair (NYSE: PNR), a diversified industrial manufacturing company, announced Friday it will acquire Hidro Filtros do Brasil, a manufacturer of industrial and residential water filters in Brazil. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Read Story
Mexico, at least killed in pipeline explosion
At least 10 people were killed early Sunday when an oil pipeline exploded in central Mexico, the state news agency Notimex said. Read Article
Chile Copper Port May Close for a Month
A port serving Chile’s Collahuasi mine, the world’s No. 3 copper deposit, could shut down for a month after an accident that killed three workers, a port official said on Sunday. Read Article
Coal Barge Sinks off Coast of Colombia Due to Weather
Severe weather and high waves caused a 70 tonne coal barge to sink off the Colombia coast this week, and more significant disruptions to shipments from the country, one of the world’s top five coal exporters are likely, Colombian miners and European buyers said on Friday. The Vale (VALE.N) barge sank near Rio Cordoba port, […]
Peru’s growth driven by public and private investment, not subsidies
Peru’s economic takeoff is driven by the public and private productive investment, which is a strong instrument for the country’s growth and the creation of employment, and not by artificial or temporary subsidies, President Alan Garcia said Saturday. “Our country has started a takeoff that is neither artificial nor temporary. Our country does not sustain […]
New regulations for private terminals in Ecuador
New conditions have been issued for turning manoeuvres at Ecuador’s Estero Santa Ana, where the Trinipuerto, Bananapuerto and TPG private terminals are located, according to GAC. Read Article
New Law Gives Venezuelan Government Control Over Most Research Spending
A new science law in Venezuela says that research will now be done for the people and in part by the people, and no longer to benefit those “in white coats.” However, scientists fear the changes could hinder progress across many fields. The new rules, approved last week by the National Assembly to take effect […]
Argentina’s YPF dispute threatens fuel shortages
A two-week old labor dispute at Argentina’s largest energy company, YPF, could start to cause fuel shortages in the coming days as refineries run out of crude oil supplies, two energy firms said on Tuesday. Read Article
Peru’s luxury tourism to grow in 2011
Peru is experiencing a growth in luxury tourism with new hotels, ecological resorts and gourmet restaurants opening in 2011 in key tourist locations. These investments are being driven by an increase in demand for luxury travel in the country, and new airline routes opening. 2011 will also be a bumper year for the country, which […]
Peru’s passion fruit exports grow 80% through October 2010
Peruvian passion fruit exports between January and October this year reached a total of US$251,900, an 80% jump over shipments for the same period last year. Citing numbers from the country’s commission for the promotion of tourism and exportation (Promperu), the total volume of passion fruit exports reached 111,900 metric tons (MT) through October, a […]
Peru milk exports spread into eleven new markets around the world
According to Adex’s market intelligence system Adex Data Trade, shipments of non-sweetened evaporated milk totaled US$64.43 million, a 30 percent rise compared to last year (US$49.5 million). Peruvian Exporters Association said that, even though Peruvian milk was not exported to Sierra Leone, Nigeria, East Timor and Italy, among others, this year, its presence expanded into […]
Ecuador Customs Agents Making Conficastions of Merchandise
Yesterday evening at the Guayaquil International Airport, customs agents were seen confiscating hundreds of pairs of shoes which were shipped in via air. It appeared that the items were brought in either without proper permissions or without declaring items. It has been a well known fact that the government has been making significant efforts at […]
Latin America Internet Use Increases
Affluent consumers are going online in increased numbers in central and south America, according to Nielsen’s latest annual data. Computer ownership, internet penetration and pay-TV subscription rates are all rising rapidly in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico – the four countries covered the report. Read Article
comScore Introduces Online Video Measurement Service in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile
“Online video viewing has become an essential part of the digital consumer experience in every corner of the globe,” said Alejandro Fosk, comScore senior vice president for Latin America. “comScore Video Metrix offers publishers, advertisers and their agencies competitive intelligence into the online video viewing marketplace, providing important audience insights such as unique viewers, videos […]