All Entries in the "Main articles" Category
A Trade Pact Left Out In The Cold
As the United States and the European Union get ready to launch an ambitious trade deal, Mercosur should reconsider its goals and strategies. With the United States and the European Union ready to launch an ambitious bilateral trade deal, many in Latin America are starting to ponder the potential impact on Mercosur. For President Jose [...]
Road Warriors Gird Up With Gadgets
Business travelers are using technology like never before. But it’s where they come from rather than where they visit that influences their choice of gadgets, hoteliers say. Smartphones, tablets and other gadgets have changed the way people travel. But according to hotliers, how travelers use technology, and what they demand when traveling, depends on the [...]
CSR, Have we learned anything?
The practices of social corporate responsibility in the region are moving toward an integrated model of sustainability and viability. What corporations should do, and what they should not do, to design successful programs. The application of this broad concept has emerged not only through the imitation of practices in developed countries and imported by multinationals, [...]
Edging Towards Developed Status
Will the country make the grade by 2020, as President Piñera hopes, or will it become stuck in the dreaded middle-income trap? Sebastián Piñera, the Chilean president, made a lot of bold promises during his election campaign in 2009, but perhaps the most eye-catching was his pledge to set Chile on course to becoming a [...]
Women On Board
Participation of women in corporate boardrooms is very low in Latin America, though the experts maintain that a better gender balance at the top offers substantial advantages for companies. As Iceland staged its tenacious recovery from the 2008-2011 economic debacle, women were pulling many of the bootstraps. Women who played key roles in big corporations [...]
How to Build a Successful Franchise in Latin America
Woods Staton, chairman and CEO of Arcos Dorados, operator and grantor of McDonald’s franchises throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, offers the following tips on how to successfully build a franchise in Latin America while staying true to the brand’s core objectives: 1. Develop a highly-focused business strategy. A well-defined strategy that offers sustainable growth [...]
Think Global, Act Local
Latin America, long an importer of franchises, is now exporting them too. Successful brands are spreading their footprint as franchises transcend national frontiers. “Absolutely…” is the unequivocal response that Lucas Secades gave Latin Trade when asked whether Latin America has stopped importing franchises and now exports them. Secades is executive director of the Argentine association [...]
Seeing opportunities
Donald Trump is expanding his brand in Latin America. Donald Trump, the billionaire U.S. real estate developer, television personality and onetime presidential hopeful, has had a presence in Latin America for several years and now is expanding his brand in the region. Attracted by strong growth, political stability, burgeoning upper classes and a well-heeled business [...]
Tourism: The Seducers
As the tourism business continues to grow throughout the region, countries are competing fiercely to lure investors with fiscal incentives and guarantees Whether in the fascinating and varied landscapes of any of Costa Rica’s 28 national parks, or in the monumental architecture in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, both countries — like many others in the [...]
Players or mere spectators?
The energy world has been changed completely by the unconventional fuel revolution. Are Latin American companies ready to make the change? To be successful in the energy world, you not only need to have reserves, but also know how to develop them. With the discovery of new conventional and alternative fuel reserves, countries in the [...]
Touch And Go For Gains In Grains
South American farmers have a lot to gain from the US drought, if only they can break free of the red tape that hinders them. The worst drought in decades in the United States is opening up new opportunities for South American grain and bean producers, but farmers warn that the same erratic weather patterns hitting [...]
What Latin America should know about the conclusions of the World Economic Forum’s annual summit: The message from Davos
By Frederico Fleury Curado The atmosphere at the 43rd edition of the World Economic Forum at Davos at the beginning of the year was one of calm optimism. The positive view prevailed despite an awareness of the main concerns that are facing companies and governments and that remained top of the forum’s agenda — such [...]
A Thirsty Continent?
Some Latin American countries, though not all, have managed water supplies efficiently, though once-abundant resources could be in short supply. With a current population of 609 million, projected to grow to 750 million by 2050, plus the rapid advance of urbanization and industrialization in the region, water is definitely on the political agenda in Latin [...]
Innovation Or Bust
New technologies, marketing methods and business processes are advancing in Latin America, but they need to match those of developed nations and Asia In 2012, in one of his last speeches as the chief economist of the World Bank, Justin Yifu Lin warned Latin American countries that they risked being stuck in a middle-income trap [...]
The Creators Of Growth
Latin America is brimming with would-be entrepreneurs, but not enough is being done to promote them. From street vendors to multinational businesses, Latin America abounds in entrepreneurial success stories. But many of the region’s government and business leaders say more must be done to promote new ventures that can drive future growth. In Mexico, the [...]
Small Cities, Big Challenges
Rapid growth of mid-size municipalities opens up great opportunities for business Diego Roca was happy to open a T.G.I. Friday’s in the Peruvian city of Arequipa in early 2011. Yet, a year after operating the casual restaurant, municipal authorities suddenly revoked its permission to stay open until one o’clock in the morning. It took a [...]
World Economic Forum: Sustainable growth
Latin America’s future is more predictable than many people believe. The world’s economic and demographic forces are inexorable drivers of the region’s major trends, which fortunately appear to point toward progress. Urbanization is one of the driving forces. The world’s cities are growing at the pace of two inhabitants per second, according to the US [...]
Colombia’s bitter harvest
Inefficiencies, low international prices, bad weather and an overvalued currency led to a slump in once buoyant exports. In the land of Juan Valdez, the average cup of coffee is now brewed with beans grown in neighboring Ecuador and Peru. That might seem like sacrilege, but a combination of heavy rains, diseased trees, low international [...]
Latin America leads the M&A revival
The bulk of the major acquisitions were in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. Top buyers were in Brazil and the United States, though Colombia was a surprise player. This year began with a bang in the world of mergers and acquisitions. The 3G investment arm of Brazil’s wealthiest man, Jorge Paulo Lemann, is joining forces with [...]
For Companies, 13 Is A Lucky Number
Latin Trade presents its first forecast for the performance of Latin American companies. Sales will show similar growth as in 2012. Mining will recover, and retail will maintain its profits. The expected economic growth for 2013 in Latin America will offer an opportunity to recover for some of the companies in the region that were [...]
Latin Trade’s Best of Travel
Along with religion and politics, travel is a topic that produces very strong opinions. Whether they’re raving about the best airplane seat or ranting about the worst hotel restaurant, nearly every business traveler is well equipped to launch into a list of their best and worst travel experiences. In Latin America — as in the [...]
Latin Trade’s Deals of the Year
From complex loan arrangements to large-scale initial public offerings, innovation was a hallmark of several deals in 2012. These are some of the most interesting of the year. When BNP Paribas began to put together a $390 million loan for a Colombian consortium to operate, manage and expand the airport in the capital, Bogotá, many [...]
Panama: The Challenges Ahead
Panama is one of the rising stars of Latin America’s economy. The construction of large infrastructure projects, such as the $5.2-billion Panama Canal expansion and a $1.8-billion subway in the capital city, have boosted the country’s economy to 10.5 percent growth in 2012, slightly less than the 10.6 percent in 2010, and reduced unemployment to [...]
Chinese Shadows
China’s economy is cooling, weakening demand for the raw materials that go into building its skyscrapers and laying its roads. How will Latin America fare? China’s voracious appetite for commodities has revived the growth engine in Latin America for years, turning Brazilian iron ore and Chilean copper into cold cash. But now that China’s [...]
Shopping For The Well-Heeled
The expansion of retail chains, the appearance of exclusive boutiques and consumers’ shopping habits are boosting commercial construction this year in Latin America. Investors in real estate are looking at double-digit returns. Growth of the purchasing power of the region’s middle classes has spurred commerce and an increase in opportunities for new commercial projects in [...]
Panama, a Hub for the Americas
“PANAMA WILL GAIN IMPORTANCE AS A LOGISTICS CENTER, AND WE WILL BE READY TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF THIS NEW ECONOMIC SITUATION.” -Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Holdings The airline, Copa, which has played a key role in Panama’s rapidly expanding economy in recent years, will continue to be an important factor in the country’s [...]
Panama’s Travel and Tourism Boom
Investment in tourism and hospitality in Panama is at an all-time high. What does that mean for investors? Panama’s current and future infrastructure projects read like a wish list for any global travel hub: airport expansion, new roadways, a new rail system, thousands of new hotel rooms, large-scale event venues and fast-growing mega-malls. But Panama’s [...]
E-Learning For The Twitter Generation
At Belgrano Day School in Buenos Aires, teachers use computers, interactive whiteboards and video screens in the classroom, and the students seem attentive. “One teacher uses technology in 90 percent of her lessons,” said Federico Johansen, overall deputy director of the K-12 school, with an enrollment of 1,200. Teachers can quiz students online and let [...]
Under the African Sun
Brazilian firms have increased their presence in Africa. In the process, they have seen heaven and hell. Where are the opportunities for other Multilatinas? Brazilian companies have made headway in Africa with the active support of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who frequently visited the continent when he was in power between 2003 [...]
Spain Reconquers Latin America
Recession has turned the heads of Spanish companies to Latin American markets and infrastructure projects. How are these firms faring in their reconquest? At the inauguration of the 13th Latin American Summit in Cadiz, Spain, one thing was clear for King Juan Carlos: The relationship between Spain and Latin America has changed dramatically. “Spain needs [...]
