All Entries in the "The Scene" Category
Latin American exports slowed in 2012
According to the latest “Latin American commerce trends estimates 2012”, based on INTradeBID data on international trade from the Inter-American Development Bank, Latin American exports significantly dropped last year. Some countries even showed negative growth during the second half of the year. This explains the 1.5 percent growth in exports during the whole of 2012, [...]
Turning One Billion Tourists Into One Billion Opportunities
On December 13, 2012, Latin America received its symbolic tourist number one billion, a Brazilian lady entering Argentina where she was greeted by a special welcoming committee. That billion figure means one out of seven people crossed the borders of their country in just one year, 2012. Amazing! Also note, that in 1950, the registered [...]
Thumbs Up For LATAM
It’s a good time for regional companies to pursue a public equity offering. There is a general consensus among North American and European investors that, despite significant macroeconomic headwinds in Europe and China, Latin America is a region with steadfast domestic markets and attractively valued companies with significant growth potential. Also, the consumer goods and [...]
CFO World – Earnings and more
The youngest are in Europe and South America, the biggest earners are in North America and, once again, the ones left behind are the women –in terms of the jobs they hold and the pay they receive. These are some of the results to come out of a survey carried out by Michael Page among [...]
Multilatinas: A good year for transportation and retail
Multilatin companies had a 5.9% drop in revenue from June 2011 to June 2012. This is the main result that emerges from the analysis of the quarterly Latin Business Chronicle Multilatinas Index. The figure confirms the weakening of economic activity that has been anticipated by most economic analysts, but the Index also shows that clearly [...]
Education Gap
One way to reduce income inequality permanently and increase productivity in Latin American economies is to improve access to education of the entire population. This has been recognized by businessmen in the region, who have focused much of their effort toward achieving this goal through corporate social responsibility programs. The latest study by Unesco and [...]
Bogota by the numbers
GDP is larger than some Latin American countries Bogotá concentrates 63 per cent of holdings and companies in Colombia, that means 1,361 multinational corporations. It is the 6th tourist destination in Latin America. With a GDP of $70.3 billion in 2011,it concentrates 27% of Colombian economic activity. Its 7.4 million population has an income per [...]
INNOVATION According to WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been measuring innovation, one of the pillars of growth and development for a company and for a nation, since 2007. It uses a complicated index that takes into account 84 factors. Latin America placed fifth among seven regions of the world on the index. This is nothing [...]
A Milestone For Latin American Businesswomen
The appointment of Maria das Graças Foster to the top job at Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, Latin America’s largest company, is seen as a major milestone for businesswomen in the region. “Maria das Graças Foster has become the most important role model for aspiring young women in the corporate world in Latin America,” says Susan [...]
Traders Cautiously Upbeat About Mila’s Year Ahead
Pulling back from last year’s pre-launch hype, traders remain cautiously upbeat about the 2012 outlook for MILA, the integrated Mercado Integrado Latino-Americano, which in May 2011 linked the Colombian, Chilean and Peruvian stock exchanges. One of the most upbeat analysts is Bulltick Capital Market’s head of research, Alberto Bernal-Leon. He estimates that, separately, MILA’s three [...]
The Evolution of Hotel Security in Bogota
When General Orlando Salazar retired from his military position nearly a decade ago and became general manager of what then was the InterContinental Tequendama, the norms for security at five-star hotels in Colombia’s capital were decidedly more intense. “Ten years ago, we had to have three layers of security,” Salazar recalled. Arriving guests had to [...]
Latin American Advertising
What makes an advertisement a hit tends to be emotion or humor. What makes an advertisement “good” is a never-ending discussion among advertisers. It isn’t the awards at festivals or the pre-and post-campaign sales, or academic criteria that provide a scale that fairly measures the quality of a piece of advertising. But when an ad [...]
Latin America Global Champion
How Latin America excels globally. Latin America is shining globally, not only in terms of economic growth, but also in several other areas, Raul Rivera points out in his book Nuestra Hora (Pearson). Brazil’s dimensions are comparable to that of the United States, while Argentina’s are equivalent to those of India. Meanwhile, Latin America’s population [...]
Mexico Prepares for China Rush
Mexico Opens Up Its Market. Mexico’s shoe sector is bracing for a tough 2012 after the country in December implemented long-awaited rules easing imports from China as part of World Trade Organization agreements. Other sectors, like clothing and toys, also expect to be impacted by stronger competition from lower-priced Chinese goods. The winners? Mexican consumers. [...]
The World of Eike Batista
What the Brazilian billionaire, Latin America’s second-wealthiest man, keeps close to his heart.
Boosting British Ties
Jeremy Browne, the U.K. Minister of State for Latin America, is bullish these days.
Bold Plans for Rio’s Port Zone
A makeover, akin to those of Barcelona and Buenos Aires, aims to transform a rundown district.
Sales Rev Up for Porsche
Porsche is zipping along in Latin America, a region where the luxury carmaker has dramatically grown over the past decade.
The Cat Runs Fast
While it’s no secret to Latin Trade readers that Latin America is a global growth star, research by Latin Business Chronicle shows which multinationals are benefiting most from that boom.
What’s in a Name?
Companies put a lot of thought into product brands and names, but what happens when two companies use the same name?
Job Hunting Via TextMessages
Through his world travels, Assured Labor CEO David Reich had met smart people who could not find jobs.
Brazil’s Homemade Drones
How AGX Tecnologia finds success developing and selling drones
Rio’s Favelas – A New Frontier?
RIO DE JANEIRO — A gray-haired and skeptical student raises his hand to interrupt the Brazilian bar association course on slum property rights: “I hear there are gringos living in favelas!”
Latin America: World-Class Potential
Raul Rivera, a Chilean native and former partner of Boston Consulting Group, talks to Latin Trade about his new book, Nuestra Hora (Pearson).
Time to Buy a Watch?
Although demographics in Latin America support luxury-goods consumption, in-region purchases of items such as men’s watches likely do not reflect the market potential, analysts and industry experts say.
Snapshot: Digital Cameras
Camera phones may be the go-to choice for documenting good times with friends — or revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East — but the market for dedicated digital cameras is growing in Latin America, makers of the device say.
English as Lingua Franca
Mandarin may have the most speakers in absolute terms, but in the globalized economy of the 21st century, English is the language of international business.
Inflation Champions
Argentina’s economy grew by 9.2 percent last year — Latin America’s second-best performance, after Paraguay. This year, Argentina’s economy should expand by another 6 percent, the International Monetary Fund estimates. Nomura Securities is more bullish, estimating an 8 percent expansion.
Air Traffic: European Boom
Despite economic turmoil in several countries, more flights traversed the Atlantic from European airports to all points in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010 compared to 2009.
Uruguay: Strong Growth, Solid Outlook
The economic indicators coming out of Uruguay give government officials much to cheer about. Last year, the economy grew by 8.5 percent, the fourth-highest increase in Latin America, according to a Latin Business Chronicle analysis of data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Officials estimate growth of 5 to 6 percent this year.
