All Entries in the "Main Articles" Category
Cash Flow Financiers
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — One of the biggest challenges for a pioneering Nicaraguan factoring firm was overcoming resistance from business owners who distrusted the idea of exchanging receivables for cash.
Flying High
Latin America represents one of the hottest growth opportunities for airlines, as competition makes mergers and alliances the new name of the game.
Travelers flying around Latin America today are enjoying options that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Given the bevy of new routes, direct access to more cities and the entry of scrappy, [...]
Google Strikes Gold in Latin America
A mere five years after formally launching localized services in Latin America, Google dominates the regional search engine market. Its name has entered the popular lexicon – as a verb – in Spanish, just as it has in English. Its social networking site Orkut is wildly popular in Brazil, besting competitors like Facebook.
Corporate Banking Comes of the Global Age
Thomas D. Avazian was part of a local management committee for Bank of America in Mexico City when the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect more than 15 years ago.
“We opened the full banking subsidiary in 1994,” said Avazian, now senior vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean at Bank of America Merrill [...]
Latin 500: Big Means Really Big When it Comes to the Top Companies in Latin America
Taking into account a presumed drastic revenue decline at Petróleos de Venezuela in 2009 — whose official financial report had not been released at press time and therefore is not ranked — the top three state-run oil companies generated some $264 billion in sales. This figure equals the combined revenue of the next 18 companies on the Latin 500 list of largest corporations in Latin America. And no private-sector company is likely to come close to these oil firms in the near future.
Latin 500: Brazil Keeps Automakers Rolling
[ Auto Industry ]
By Mary Sutter
MIAMI — For automakers in Latin America, Brazil was a rare bright spot in 2009, and sustained momentum there will underpin the sector’s regional recovery this year.
As sales dropped in every other Latin American market last year, Brazilians bought more than 3 million vehicles, a jump of 11 percent compared [...]
Latin 500: End of An Era for Mexico’s FEMSA
MEXICO CITY — Mexicans slaked their thirsts during the World Cup with plenty of beer – even though the initial matches kicked off at 6:30 in the morning local time and the national squad exited early on in the contest.
Latin 500: Brazil’s Homebuilding Stimulus Program Marks Boon to Construction Firms
SÃO PAULO — For much of the construction sector — especially in Brazil — the year 2009 could be summed up with the question: Crisis? What crisis?
Latin 500: Mining Companies Dig Out from Global Downturn
[ Mining Industry ]
By Lisa K. Wing
LIMA, Peru — Mining companies across Latin America took a pounding in 2009 as the worldwide economic storm battered the prices of copper, iron and other metals. Two-thirds of the 36 mining companies on the Latin 500 corporate ranking saw their revenue and earnings drop, one of the worst [...]
Latin 500: A Study in Contrasts
[ Oil industry ]
By Thierry Ogier
São Paulo — Buoyed by huge, new potential oil reserves and a stellar financial performance, the Brazilian energy company Petrobras in 2009 bolstered its regional dominance as the No. 1 company in Latin America. The oil giant’s double-digit increases in both revenue and earnings further underscored the growing distance [...]
Latin 500: Walmart Revs Up Regional Presence
MEXICO CITY — When storm clouds began to gather over the global economy, the largest retailer in Latin America – and one of the region’s 10 largest companies overall – hunkered down to weather the downturn.
Latin 500: Convergence Ushers in Integration
MEXICO CITY — When the economic crisis came calling, it went straight to voicemail for the region’s biggest telecom players. Both Spain’s Telefónica (No. 3) and Mexico’s America Móvil (No. 4) posted big increases in revenue and profits in 2009 and are outranked only by the big three state-owned oil companies in Latin America.
Latin 500: Success Seeds Philanthropy
Latin America’s homegrown corporations and wealthy families hold out prospects for a golden age of giving because the region’s philanthropic levels still fall short of the rest of the world.
Latin 500: Private Money Takes Over Development
In a high-profile ceremony in Mexico City in early June, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carlos Slim Health Institute, the government of Spain and the Inter-American Development Bank rolled out a groundbreaking initiative to provide health services to the poor in parts of Central America and southern Mexico.
Latin Trade CFO Forum / Mexico City
Mexico now boasts a $1 trillion economy that has weathered one of its worst crises in the past century. Despite recent improvement in the Mexican and world economies, executives who manage company finances still face challenges ranging from lack of liquidity to price volatility.
BRAVO Council / Panama
BRAVO Council meeting focuses on the future of the most recent Latin American country to achieve an investment grade rating
BRAVO Council / Cartagena
The New South: Latin America Offers Trade for Asia and Opportunities for Global Companies
By Joachim Bamrud
CARTAGENA, Colombia – The rising influence of Brazil in the hemisphere, the continuing improvement in Colombia’s economy and the growing clout of Asia in the region dominated the discussion during a recent Bravo Council held in Colombia’s largest Caribbean city.
Regional [...]
Statistics, Logistics and the Rebound
Latin America leads the way as global trade picks up from its steep decline in 2009
Wine Time in Mendoza
Diageo, the world’s largest drinks company, shrugged off the downturn in global wine sales and upped its long-term bet on Mendoza, with its ideal climate and hit varietal Malbec, Juan Pedro Tomás reports from the Argentine province.
Green is Good
For a growing number of regional companies and multinationals, being a good corporate citizen means monitoring environmental impact and adopting sustainable business practices.
Banks Buck the Crisis
The region’s banks lost little of their luster in the slowdown, and now global financial institutions increasingly are looking to their Latin American operations for growth prospects.
Ten Under Ten: Organic Treatment
Biotech puts bacteria to work
Ten Under Ten: Blue Skies Ahead
Low-cost airline takes off in Brazil
Ten Under Ten: Pumped for Growth
Safer roads drive sales for fuel distributor
Ten Under Ten: Betting on Power
Energy executives turned wildcatters strike oil and gas in Patagonia
Ten Under Ten: Software Savvy
Internet specialists carve out niche in an outsourced world
Ten Under Ten: Beyond Mate
Uruguayan-Argentine partnership brews a tea business
Ten Under Ten: Making Direct Contact
Specialist in market intelligence thinks big
Ten Under Ten: Wireless Wonders
Engineering duo endeavors to get fellow Panamanians online
