May 20, 2013

Abel Halpern May 20, 2013

EXCLUSIVE Brazil goes full steam ahead on ports
$27 billion overhaul to include construction of privately-held ports

Brazil's ports are one of the major obstacles to the country's growth. Last week, the Brazilian Congress passed a bill aimed at modernizing the country's port infrastructure. That bill seeks to boost investment in ports to $27 billion, opens them to private investment, and permits the construction of privately-owned ports, Latin Business Chronicle reports.

Venezuela to allow oil joint ventures with China and Chevron
PDVSA to manage $6 billion in loans and pay up to $2 billion in overdue payments to industry

Petróleos de Venezuela will allow joint ventures with China National Petroleum and Chevron to manage $6 billion in loans to reverse oil output declines, a PDVSA official said. PDVSA reached agreements on terms of a $2 billion credit from Chevron for the Petroboscan venture and a $4 billion loan from China Development Bank for Sinovensa, Bloomberg reports.

Mexico's cosseted elite
Named and shamed by media

It has been a bad week for Mexico's high and mighty, and a good week for Schadenfreude. This is thanks in large part to the growth of social media and a public increasingly sick of the sense of entitlement enjoyed by parts of the political establishment, The Economist reports. A newspaper has exposed the jet-set lifestyle of the son of Carlos Romero, leader of the oil-workers' union, who officially earns $2,000 a month. Romero's daughter had earlier featured (see YouTube video). The Economist

Peru claims to have Latin America's lowest costs for mining
Minister says electricity rates are less than half of those in Chile

Peru is the most competitive mining country in the region in terms of costs, including over Chile, which makes the Andean country more attractive to global foreign investment, Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Merino said. The minister noted Peru's energy costs at 6 US cents per kilowatt hour, while in Chile it costs 16 cents, Andina reports.

Foreign investors flood back into Brazil, but little change of heart
Inflows to stock market tripled in first quarter but massive bets on falls in share prices

Foreign investors flocked back to Brazil early this year, prompting the strongest stock market inflows in more than two years, but massive bets on share price falls suggest no change in sentiment towards the economy. Foreign inflows to Brazil's stock market almost tripled in the first quarter from the previous three-month period to $7.74 billion, Reuters reports.

MOREOVER