Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas articles from August 2001

Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas archives from August 2001

Into the future. (Letter from the Editor).
August 1, 2001... THIS MONTH WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE MEXICAN economy, and how enormously it has evolved since the mid-1990s. It is remarkable for a number of reasons, not least of which is its orientation toward the global economy, and all that implies - export...

Stubborn Debt. (Argentina).
August 1, 2001... The federal government and opposition provincial governors have signed an agreement to eliminate the budget deficit, a move that economy minister Domingo Cavallo has called the nation's only hope, and one that is required to comply with...

Bank Bailout. (Bolivia).
August 1, 2001... The government has announced a US$500 million package to reduce past-due and non-performing loans that are plaguing the nation's financial system. Bolivia's 12 private banks reportedly have 13 percent to 14 percent of their total loan...

More Hydro? (Brazil).
August 1, 2001... Despite Brazil's over-dependence on hydroelectric power, state energy regulator Aneel has auctioned off eight hydroelectric projects that will bring 2,289 megawatts of installed capacity and US$1.1 billion in royalties (over 35 years) when...

Next Generation. (Brazil).
August 1, 2001... US telecom Motorola has signed deals worth US$147 million to build high-speed, 3rd Generation data networks for Global Telecom (US$64 million) and Telesp Celular (US$83 million); Global Telecom is a unit of Portugal Telecom, and Telesp is a...

US Beachhead. (Brazil).
August 1, 2001... Steel producer Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) has purchased US-based Heartland Steel for US$69 million, including assumed debt. JP Morgan Chase has arranged a US$175 million loan for the purchase and other possible US acquisitions.

Surpassed. (Colombia).
August 1, 2001... Vietnam has eclipsed Colombia as the world's No. 2 coffee grower (Brazil remains No. 1). Exports from Vietnam are up by one-third since October, and the crop is expected to come in at 15 million bags for the year. That represents a 69 percent...

Banana Burn. (Costa Rica).
August 1, 2001... The government is burning almost half the plantations on its Pacific coast, some 1,000 hectares of bananas, in an attempt to halt the spread of the tree-wasting disease sigatoka. The country has also accused US banana exporter Chiquita of...

Pipeline Fever. (Ecuador).
August 1, 2001... OCP Ecuador has contracted with Argentina's Techint for US$700 million to build the pipeline for its US$1.1 billion crude oil pipeline project; Techint is one of OCP's shareholders.

Betting on Bufete. (Mexico).
August 1, 2001... Industrial conglomerate Grupo Serbo owner Sergio Bolanos has acquired a 53.4 percent stake in engineering and construction firm Bufete Industrial from Jose Mendoza and Kellogg Mexico, The price? A symbolic 1,000 pesos and the assumption of...

Gas Pros. (Mexico).
August 1, 2001... Royal Dutch/Shell and El Paso Corp. have announced they will build a US$300 million plant to turn liquefied natural gas, imported by Shell tankers, back into gas that can be used to help Mexico meet its energy needs. While Mexico remains a...

Open industry. (Venezuela).
August 1, 2001... Private industry has entered the nation's natural gas industry for the first time in 26 years. France's TotalFinaElf and Spanish-Argentine company Repsol-YPF, as well as Venezuelan engineering firms Inelectra and Otepi, have won the rights to...

Brow Beaten. (Venezuela).
August 1, 2001... Banks have bowed to pressure from Hugo Chavez and have lowered interest rates for consumer loans (to 28 percent) and corporate loans (to 20 percent), a drop of 6 percent and 7 percent. The president, who threatened intervention, says he will...

Big brothers. (Regional).
August 1, 2001... Venezuela and Mexico have ratified the San Jose oil accord, under which they will sell 160,000 barrels of oil per day at low prices, with low-rate financing, to countries in Central America and the Caribbean. Venezuela has also granted...

Long distance. (Regional).
August 1, 2001... Spain-Argentina's Repsol-YPF, BP Amoco, BG Group, TotalFinaElf and Bolivia's YPFB have announced a US$5 billion joint project to ship liquid natural gas 4,300 miles from Bolivia to the US state of California, The gas will be pumped by...

Petrobras on the cheap. (Deal Spotlight).
August 1, 2001... One investor's gain is another's loss. That was the case when Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES) sold its shares of state oil giant Petrobras this July. The bank earned US$702 million from the sale of almost 36 million preferred...

Bolsas: Gains & Losses.
August 1, 2001... BOLSAS: GAINS & LOSSES Latin American Stock Exchanges (July 1 through July 24, 2001) Caracas 4.84% Bogota Index 1.18% IPSA (Chile) Index -0.68% InMex -1.12% Lima General Index...

Bonds & obligations.
August 1, 2001... Argentina Scotia Quilmes US$55 million 1-year bond Zero-coupon/Priced at 95.975% Launched July 3 Unibanco US$150 million 2-year bond Coupon 7.75%/Yielding 7.375% Launched June 28 Bradesco US$100 million...

Dutch bank ABM Amro. (Investments and M&AS).
August 1, 2001... * Dutch bank ABM Amro will sell its Argentine consumer banking unit to Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires for US$57 million. The move will increase Banco de Galicia's market share to 11 percent and increase its assets by US$600 million.

Panama bought back US$160 million of bond. (Investments and M&AS).
August 1, 2001... * Panama bought back US$160 million of bonds set to mature February 2002. The buyback offer was for up to US$245 million and was paid for from the February sale of a US$750-million 10-year bond.

Argentine agriculture. (Investments and M&AS).
August 1, 2001... * Argentine agriculture concern Bunge is planning to sell 17.6 million shares, or about 21 percent of its total equity, in an IPO on the NYSE. No date has been set for the sale, which is likely to fetch US$16 to US$18 per share.

Colombia's No. 1 retailer, Almacenes Exito. (Investments and M&AS).
August 1, 2001... * Colombia's No. 1 retailer, Almacenes Exito, says it approved a planned merger with No. 2 retailer Cadenalco. Exito is offering one common share of Exito for 4.7 common or preferential shares of Cadenalco.

LanChile SA. (Investments and M&AS).
August 1, 2001... * LanChile SA swapped its remaining shares in telecom Equant for 132,417 shares of France Telecom at a price of 57.00 euros per share, then sold the shares on the open market for a net gain of US$6 million.

Companhia de Bebidas das Americas. (Investments and M&AS).
August 1, 2001... * Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (AMBEV) concluded its acquisition of Paraguay-based Cerveceria Internacional for US$12 million.

Indices: currencies.
August 1, 2001... INDICES: CURRENCIES % return compared to the US dollar vs. US$ YTD Venezuela 607.5 6.52% Peru 3.49 0.33% Colombia 2,303 6.89% Chile 661.15 21.97% Mexico 9.13 -1.80%...

Unemployment rates major economies.
August 1, 2001... Unemployment Rates Major Economies Mexico (2) 2.5 Honduras 28.0 Colombia (1) 16.0 Venezuela (3) 14.5 Peru (2) 10.3 Bolivia (2) 23.0 Brazil (2) 6.9 Chile (1) 9.6 Argentina (1) 16.0...

Software piracy.
August 1, 2001... Software Piracy The software industry loses millions of dollars each year to software piracy. The majority of Latin America's software is still pirated, but the industry is making progress in its campaign to crack down ...

Investment slowdown. (Bulletin Board).
August 1, 2001... * Total private equity investments in Latin America, January-June 2000: US$2.6 billion * Total for January-May 2001: US$550 million Source: Financial Times

Gas goes to waste. (Bulletin Board).
August 1, 2001... * Amount of natural gas purchased by Brazil's Petrobras from Bolivia, daily: 16.3 million cubic meters * Amount of Bolivian natural gas not used by Petrobras, daily: 10.5 million cubic meters * Value of Bolivian natural gas wasted by...

ATMs: cash advance. (Bulletin Board).
August 1, 2001... * ATMs in Mexico in 1995: 6,976 * ATMs in Mexico in 2000: 17,446 * Percentage increase, 1995-2000: 1500% * Per capita ATMs, 1995: 77 per million people * Per capita ATMs, 2000:179 per million people * Percentage...

Corn out. (Bulletin Board).
August 1, 2001... * Brazil's net imports of corn , 2000: 1.75 million tons * Brazil's expected net exports of corn, through Sept. 2001: 2.7 million tons * Last time Brazil was a net exporter of corn: 1983 Source: Financial Times

The costs of Web building. (Bulletin Board).
August 1, 2001... * Average Web site construction cost for an online business in Latin America: US$894,448 * Average Web site cost for an online component to a "bricks and mortar" business in Latin America: US$481,796 * Average Internet-only...

Water waste. (Bulletin Board).
August 1, 2001... * Number of wastewater treatment plants in Mexico: 777 * Number of plants that are in operation: 186 * Percentage of collected wastewater that is treated: 23% Source: CNA (National Water Commission)

The eyes have it. (High Technology).
August 1, 2001... Except for the unlucky people who may lose jobs because of this technology, there's reason for everyone -- well, everyone in the topographical surveying field -- to be excited about a new laser surveying system called Top Eye. The laser is...

Locomotion. (Power).
August 1, 2001... With power-starved Brazil under a rationing order, companies across the nation are scrambling to come up with short-term solutions while a new wave of power generators are being constructed. One immediate fix comes by way of MRS Logistica, a...

Home improvement. (Payment Solutions).
August 1, 2001... Call it a matter of trust, or perhaps just a case of making the transfer of money more convenient. Mexican cement maker Cemex has set up a new currency-transfer service in Los Angeles, with further centers planned for Chicago and Houston....

Street smart: worldwide, Hewlett Packard has seen disappointing results during the past year. But its Latin American consumer products division continues to thrive, pushing the envelope of the retail environment. (Strategies).
August 1, 2001... SOMETIMES YOU HAVE to go with your gut instincts. Fulvio Ferrari, the top executive for Hewlett-Packard's consumer products division in Latin America, knows this from experience. Shortly after Ferrari became head of marketing for HP'S...

The power of persistence: it took 10 years for the president of Panama's World Trade Center to open his complex in downtown Panama City. Now the project is bearing fruit. (Strategies).
August 1, 2001... LIKE A LOT OF PROMISING projects in Panama, the World Trade Center might have become reality much sooner had it not been for politics. "I came to Panama with the [trade center] license in my hand on June 16, 1987," recalls WTC's...

All aboard: CEO Alexandre Behring took over a rusting, state-owned railway and made it profitable. Now he wants to expand South America's first transnational rail system. (Strategies).
August 1, 2001... EVERY FEBRUARY AT HARVEST time, heavily laden trucks crowd roads in the southern Brazilian state of Parana. Headed to the huge port of Paranagua to unload the year's soy crop, the convoys sometimes stretch for 70 miles. Wiping out this...

Luxury for less: one of Argentina's largest duty-free retailers is poised to open an enormous retail complex along the nation's Brazilian border. (Strategies).
August 1, 2001... FOR ALL THE HOPES that Mercosur would create a free trade zone between the Southern Cone nations of Latin America, there remain huge discrepancies between the prices paid as you cross borders. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the...

A spinner's tale: Peru's largest alpaca factory is still a family affair. But its age-old traditions have been radically enhanced by the high-technology insights of its CEO. (Strategies).
August 1, 2001... IN THE LOFTY SHEDS of the Arequipa-based Michell textile factory -- the world's largest alpaca-spinning plant -- nimble-fingered Andean women bend age-old skills to a traditional task: sorting fleece by touch. They swiftly pick through bales...

Peso power: an overview of the Mexican economy. (Mexico Special Report).
August 1, 2001... Six years ago, Mexico was reeling from the tequia crisis that sent its stock market plunging and nearly unhinged its banking system. Today it has low inflation, a strong peso and five years of growth under its belt. Now all it has to do is...

Grupo Modelo speaks for itself.
August 1, 2001... 75 years after producing, distributing and selling beer of the highest quality and with an increase last year that led to a 60.7% total market share, Grupo Modelo has consolidated its leadership in the national beer industry. Modelo's "crown...

A few good men. (Mexico Special Report).
August 1, 2001... MEXICO'S TOP CEOs OF THE TOP 100 CORPORATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA, 40 ARE BASED IN MEXICO. THEY ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE, INCREASINGLY GLOBAL AND BETTER RUN THAN EVER. WHAT FOLLOWS ARE 12 OF MEXICO'S TOP CEOS AND THE CORPORATIONS...

Slim Domit's billion-dollar bet: Carlos Slim Domit has scored a string of successes for Grupo Carso in Mexico. But can he translate his retailing prowess to the us market? (Mexico Special Report).
August 1, 2001... Carlos Slim Domit's work space is not what you would expect. The offices of the 34-year-old chairman of Mexico's No. 2 holding company (the largest is chaired by his father, Carlos Slim Helu) are reached through the suppliers' entrance of a...

Gourmet Mexico city. (Style of Life Dining).
August 1, 2001... Forget e-mail, cell phones and the rest of the New Economy. When it comes to creating business relationships, nothing can replace those built around the social event of dining. Four of Mexico City's finest eating establishments offer...

Double Duty. (Style of Life Gadg Gets).
August 1, 2001... Some gadgets work to enhance your productivity or make required tasks more enjoyable. Others can barely be called gadgets--they don't improve efficiency, and they are not always electronic. But when they perform dual functions, they can be...

Air time: the boom years of the 1990s fueled an explosion of private corporate jet travel. One result was a proliferation of "fractional ownership" companies. Now, one of the top 3 is spreading its wings in Latin America. (Style of Life: Jets).
August 1, 2001... FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP OF AIRCRAFT IS something like the real estate concept of a time-share condominium. It allows corporations and individuals to own a "share" of a plane, which entitles them to a set number of hours of flying time, based on...

Wielding a brand name: the underutilized weapon for competing in a crowded market place? Branding. (Final Thoughts).
August 1, 2001... IT'S NO SECRET TO ANYONE WORKING in Latin America that it's a dynamic and increasingly crowded market place full of companies competing with other local and, increasingly, global players. Even given the ups and downs of Latin American...