Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas articles from December 2000

Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas archives from December 2000

Happy anniversary. (Letter from the Editor).
December 1, 2000... IT HAS BEEN A YEAR NOW SINCE WE PUBLISHED THE FIRST issue of LatinCEO magazine, and as we move into our second year, it seems appropriate to take a pause and reflect. We started the magazine with the idea that Latin America's corporate...

Cisneros Television Group. (Regional).
December 1, 2000... Continuing the consolidation trend that has been gripping Internet companies around the world, Argentine portal El Sitio announced it would merge with Ibero-American Media Partners, the joint venture between the Cisneros Group and Hicks,...

Coca-Cola. (Regional).
December 1, 2000... In hopes of strengthening its export and sales operations in Brazil, Coca-Cola has announced plans to invest US$1 billion in the country through the end of 2002. Brazil is Coca-Cola's third-largest market. In Mexico, antitrust authorities...

Diveo Broadband Networks. (Regional).
December 1, 2000... Diveo Broadband Networks has agreed to provide IBM with Web hosting space and bandwidth in its Internet Data Centers in Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Buenos Aires, where IBM will become the anchor tenant and manager. The five-year deal is worth...

Standard & Poor. (Portfolio: Argentina).
December 1, 2000... In a potentially devastating blow to the country's ability to raise needed capital, Standard & Poor's has lowered Argentina's foreign currency rating from BB to BB- and its local rating from BBB/A-3 to BB/B. The country scrambled to raise...

Comsat Argentina. (Portfolio: Argentina).
December 1, 2000... Comsat Argentina has initiated long-distance telephone service in the country. The company has invested around US$150 million to get its network running.

Cia. Siderurgica Belgo-Mineira SA. (Portfolio: Argentina).
December 1, 2000... Brazil's Cia. Siderurgica BelgoMineira SA has agreed to buy US$100 million worth of shares in steelmaker Acindar Industria Argentina de Aceros SA.

Motorola. (Portfolio: Argentina).
December 1, 2000... US-based Motorola has started construction of a US$17 million software development center, the first of its kind in Argentina. When it opens in Cordoba in the first quarter of 2001, the plant should employ 500 workers.

Petroleos Brasileiro. (Portfolio: Brazil).
December 1, 2000... Petroleos Brasileiro (Petrobras) has averted an oil workers' union strike by agreeing to a 9.2 percent pay increase for workers who started work after 1997, and a 7.8 percent pay increase for all other workers. In other news, Petrobras was...

Banco do Estado de Sao Paulo SA. (Portfolio: Brazil).
December 1, 2000... Changes in the banking system continue. A 30 percent stake and management control of Banco do Estado de Sao Paulo SA (Banespa) has been purchased from the government by Banco Santander Central Hispano SA for a record-setting (in South...

Companhia de Bebidas das Americas. (Portfolio: Brazil).
December 1, 2000... Canadian brewer Molson has agreed to buy the Bavaria beer brand and associated breweries from Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (Ambev) for US$98 million in cash, with performance incentives that could raise the deal's value to US$213...

Universo Online's AcessoNet. (Portfolio: Brazil).
December 1, 2000... Embratel has purchased Universo Online's AcessoNet Internet access provider subsidiary. The purchase gives UOL much-needed cash.

Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica. (Portfolio: Brazil).
December 1, 2000... Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (Embraer) continues to expenence rapid growth. A recent sale to the Belgian defense ministry of US$78 million worth of commercial jet aircraft helped bump Embraer's new orders to 160 jets for 2000, up from 97...

Mario Garnero. (Portfolio: Brazil).
December 1, 2000... Plans to spend US$1.65 billion to build the world's tallest building in Sao Paulo fell through when developer Mario Garnero was unable to secure financial backing.

Moody's Investors Service. (Portfolio: Brazil).
December 1, 2000... Moody's Investors Service has raised Brazil's credit rating, including an unexpected two-position upgrade of its local-currency bonds, to Bi. The move shows confidence in the federal government's ability to pay its domestic debt, as well as...

ABN Amro Holding. (Portfolio: Bolivia).
December 1, 2000... Dutch Bank ABN Amro Holding has sold its Bolivian offices to Banco Mercantil, the country's No. 4 bank.

Hydro-Quebec. (Portfolio: Chile).
December 1, 2000... Enersis (a unit of Spain's Endesa) has spent US$430 million to buy the shares it did not own in power distributors Chilectra and Coinpania Electrica Rio Maipo. This followed Endesa's US$1.07 billion sale of its shares in power transmitter...

Venezuela. (Portfolio: Cuba).
December 1, 2000... Venezuela has agreed to sell up to US$500 million worth of oil per year to Cuba under favorable financing terms (giving Cuba 15 years to pay, a two-year grace period and a 2 percent interest rate). Cuba will pay for some of the oil with...

Axor. (Portfolio: Cuba).
December 1, 2000... Spain's Axor has entered into a 50-year, US$50 million (initial investment) joint venture with the government to build hotels in two resort areas.

Tricom S.A. (Dominican Republic).
December 1, 2000... Mexico's Carlos Slim Helu (owner of Telefonos de Mexico) and other family members have purchased 12.1 percent of telecommunications company Tricom S.A. by buying 1.175 million American Depository Shares at various times. The shares traded at...

Empresa Hondurena de Telecomunicaciones. (Portfolio: Honduras).
December 1, 2000... The state failed to sell control of Empresa Hondurena de Telecomunicaciones (Hondutel) when the highest bidder at auction, Telefonos de Mexico, bid only US$106 million, below the government's minimum of US$300 million. The government promised...

GMAC Insurance Holdings. (Portfolio: Mexico).
December 1, 2000... GMAC Insurance Holdings, Mexico's top auto insurer and a subsidiary of US-based General Motors, has paid US$100 million to purchase auto insurer Aba Seguros from Abaco Grupo Financiero. GM has also announced it plans to grant mortgages worth...

ICA Fluor Daniel. (Portfolio: Mexico).
December 1, 2000... ICA Fluor Daniel (a joint venture of Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora and the US's Fluor Corp.) has started construction on the US$38 million cement plant it won the contract to build for cement maker Apasco. The plant is expected to triple...

Federal Electricity Commission. (Portfolio: Mexico).
December 1, 2000... France's Alstom has won a contract from the Federal Electricity Commission to build US$172.2 million worth of gas turbines to supply power to Mexico City.

TV Azteca SA de CV. (Portfolio: Mexico).
December 1, 2000... TV Azteca SA de CV has announced that it will sell its controversial stake in wireless telephony provider Unefon (also owned by Azteca owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego) to TV Azteca shareholders through an options offering.

Grupo Alfa and Ford Motor Company. (Portfolio: Mexico).
December 1, 2000... Grupo Alfa and Ford Motor Company have made a deal that will raise Ford's stake in Alfa's auto parts manufacturing unit, Nemak, to 25 percent from 20 percent. Ford will contribute two Canadian auto components plants to Nemak. The company will...

Excelsior. (Portfolio: Mexico).
December 1, 2000... One of the PRI's most loyal papers, the employee-owned Excelsior, is facing either bankruptcy or a rapid sale. Since the PRI lost the presidential election, subsidies and special treatment have dried up for various media. When Excelsior...

Jorge Chavez International Airport. (Portfolio: Peru).
December 1, 2000... The Jorge Chavez International Airport (Lima) operating concession has been awarded to a consortium made up of Flughafen Frankfurt Main AG, Bechtel Enterprises International Ltd., and Cosapi SA. The consortium has offered to pay the state...

Hunt Oil Corp. (Portfolio: Peru).
December 1, 2000... In another privatization move, a consortium of Techint SA (Argentina), Sonatrach (Algeria), Grana y Montero, Pluspetrol SA (Argentina), Hunt Oil Corp. (US) and SK Group (South Korea) has purchased the natural gas distribution concession for...

Telecom Italia Mobile. (Portfolio: Venezuela).
December 1, 2000... In a first step to acquire control of the company, Telecom Italia Mobile has spent US$111 million for an undisclosed portion of cellular phone operator Digitel. The move was in response to the opening of the cellular telecommunications...

Trade balance.
December 1, 2000... Trade Balance (in Millions US$) Trade is an important part of Latin America's economy. While a negative trade balance must be financed and can impact a country's ability to borrow funds, most countries' balances remain negative...

Tourism earnings.
December 1, 2000... Tourism Earnings Mexico was Latin America's No. 1 tourism earner in 1999, taking in US$7.6 billion from the industry. Worldwide, Mexico was No. 15. Tourism remains an important and growing industry in most of the region. ...

People count. (Bulletin Board).
December 1, 2000... * Earth's most populous urban area: Tokyo-Yokohama corridor * Total residents: 27.7 million * Earths second-most populous urban area: Mexico City * Total residents: 17.8 million * Portion of Mexicans living in Mexico City: 1...

Snatched. (Bulletin Board).
December 1, 2000... * Number of reported kidnappings in Colombia, first six months 2000: 1,532 * Number reported in first six months of 1999:1,456 * Increase: 5.2% * Number of 2000 kidnappings attributed to FARC: 477 * Number attributed to ELN:...

Internet-heavy. (Bulletin Board).
December 1, 2000... * Number of Argentine Internet startups between October 1999 and June 2000: 60 * Money raised by those startups during that time: US$500 million * Number of Internet domains housed in Argentina: 325,000 Source: Financial Times

Fine wine. (Bulletin Board).
December 1, 2000... * Chile's 1999 wine exports: US$514 million * Argentina's 1999 wine exports: US$140 million Source: Financial Times, Chile's Export Wine Producers Association (Chilevid)

Dollarization. (Bulletin Board).
December 1, 2000... * Ecuador's January inflation rate: 14.3% * August inflation rate (after dollarization): 1.4% * Quito residents who believe dollarization is helping the economy: 55% * Portion who felt that way in January: 27% Source:...

Music pirates. (Bulletin Board).
December 1, 2000... * Latin America's music piracy leader (in dollars): Brazil * Total value of piracy in Brazil in 1999: US$180 million * Portion of CDs and cassettes in Brazil that are pirated: 50% * Portion in the US and Canada that are pirated:...

Purple people seater. (Transportation).
December 1, 2000... Think traffic is bad in your city? Pity the poor professionals in Sao Paulo. A simple cross-town cab ride can take up to three hours during rush hour in this city of 10 million residents. What's an incarcerated executive to do? If you're...

Cutting edge conservation. (ECO Business).
December 1, 2000... Farming maize is one thing, but trapping carbon is a new twist for Mayan farmers in Chiapas, Mexico. A dozen highland villages in the poor Mexican state are participating in the Scolel Te project, which means "growing trees" in Mayan. It's...

Not just for weddings. (Construction).
December 1, 2000... Few countries consume cement quite like Brazil, From the giant curved forms in Brasilia to the endless concrete highrises of Sao Paulo, cement is as common in Brazil's urban core as rice is in Asia. It is appropriate then that a 10-year...

Real recovery: a deal with Gateway and a little savvy helps a Brazilian computer manufacturer stabilize after being decimated by the devaluation of the national currency. (Strategies).
December 1, 2000... LIKE SCORES OF OTHER companies, Vitech America came close to being another tragedy of the Brazilian devaluation in 1999. Its survival is nothing short of a miracle. A timely deal, cash reserves and pragmatism made the difference. The...

From uptown to broadband: Chile's Manquehue net, formerly Telefonica Manquehue, shifts its focus from providing phones for the affluent to broadband services or the data-hungry. (Strategies).
December 1, 2000... CHILE'S MANQUEHUE corporation began its life as an ad hoc solution. Its founders had no intention of starting a phone company--until they were forced to. Originally called Telefonica Manquehue, before its name change last July to...

Getting back on track: fresh out of the starting block, Porsche Latin America hopes to triple sales of the legendary German autos within three years. (Strategies).
December 1, 2000... EVERY YEAR, MEMBERS OF the Chilean and Argentine Porsche clubs pack a lunch, ill their gas tanks and roar through the Andes to the mountain city of Mendoza. There, they spend the weekend celebrating their sports cars--revving their powerful...

Ocean farming: because of his farming techniques, land is not a problem for Biotecmar chief executive Alejandro Suels. (Strategies).
December 1, 2000... THERE'S A SAYING IN Venezuela that the country has "its back to the sea." Despite its prime location at the top of South America, affording easy, extensive access to the Atlantic Ocean, Venezuela has traditionally looked inward toward...

Cyber sentinel: can e-commerce in Latin America be made safe? Argentina's Decidir.com believes its information protection and fraud screening services are the answer. (Strategies).
December 1, 2000... ESTEBAN NOFAL HAS AN ambitious mission: He wants to make Latin America safe for e-commerce. That's no small goal. Latin America's emerging Internet industry has been saddled with the regrettable reputation for being the Wild West of the Web,...

Going the last mile.
December 1, 2000... WITH KEY SOUTH AMERICAN FIBER OPTIC NETWORKS IN HAND, CHILEAN PATRICIO NORTHLAND TURNED FIRSTCOM INTO A SMALL, BUT WELL-POSITIONED PLAYER IN THE CORPORATE TELECOM MARKETPLACE. LAST AUGUST, HIS COMPANY BECAME AT&T LATIN AMERICA, TRANSFORMING...

Natural Viagra? There isn't much business going on in Peru's Bombon Plateau, high in the central Andes. But that remote place is where the CEO of the country's largest pharmaceutical firm is staking his company's future.
December 1, 2000... alkaloids in the bark that have been clinically demonstrated to work as a powerful and-inflammatory and stimulant to the immune system. Laboratory tests are being done to test the potential of cats claw in the treatment of HIV and for...

Sultan of fashion: Venezuela's Graffiti retail chain was born as a single store selling designer clothing. CEO Carlos Sultan has turned it into a house of style with hundreds of outlets--and plans to take the chain global.
December 1, 2000... Carlos Sultan is a hard man to pin down these days. His only time for an interview is sandwiched between bank meetings, document signings, VIP guests and a procession of phone calls. But the flurry of activity is understandable--Sultan is on...

Argentina remains a problem as the US economy begins to slow down. (Market Place Rating the Countries).
December 1, 2000... WITH THE US ECONOMY losing steam, markets in Latin America are bound to feel the pinch. The political controversy in the US over the results of the presidential election has heightened uncertainty and may have spooked consumers. Markets in...

Export driven: the changing Mexican economy is attracting investment dollars into the country -- and exporting more to the U.S. Does this signify a bell weather change in the geopolitics of the region? (Market Place: Executive Summary).
December 1, 2000... INVESTORS ARE INCREASINGLY bullish on Mexico. After making great strides in the last several years, Mexico's economy has now been kicked into high gear by the recent presidential election. Mexican exports continue to surge, making Mexico...

The negotiator: Peru is the unlikely first mover in the field of Internet dispute resolution. Will its model take hold? (Market Place: Internet).
December 1, 2000... IN 1998, ALFONSO ALVAREZ Calderon received a call from Peruvian Vice President Ricardo Marquez that changed his life. The vice president wanted AlvarezCalderon, a lawyer and international banker, to work with a group of advisers on a plan...

All your financial needs. (Technology: Web Sites).
December 1, 2000... www.dineronet.com What it is: Financial information, with articles geared by country; in Spanish or Portuguese. What is promises: All of the personal finance information you need, in one place: insurance, investments, loans, banks,...

DeMet moves to the net: online blueprints and communication mean big savings for one Mexican housing developer. (Technology: IT Solutions).
December 1, 2000... IN THE CONSTRUCTION world, the term "paper trail" is an understatement. With paper blueprints typically measuring one square meter, "paper mountain" is probably a more accurate term. Mexican residential real estate developer DeMet...

Digital memories: call it instant gratification. You take a picture and get to see it right away. And we're not talking about that old Polaroid. (Technology: Gadgets).
December 1, 2000... With a digital camera, you can take virtually unlimited shots and view them instantly on the camera, a television or a computer. With cameras whose resolutions range from two to more than four megapixels, you can also make great looking...

A hotel of distinction at a prestige address. (Advertisement).
December 1, 2000... THE ELEGANT CENTRO LIDO HOTEL, one of the newest jewels among Latin American luxury hotels, offers travelers to Caracas, Venezuela, an unbeatable combination: five-star accommodations and dining, impeccable service and an ideal location. ...

The top of Caracas: from crown princes to celebrities to the ultra-rich, Venezuela's five-star hotels are ready to cater to the jet set. (Style of Life: Travel).
December 1, 2000... A GOOD HOTEL IS ONE OF LIFE'S LUXURIES, but a night in a five-star hotel's five-star suite is another experience altogether. These are the creme de la creme of Caracas' suites for the elite, the finest accommodations that money can buy...

The thrill of the hunt: CEOs from Mexico and South America are lured by the exotic game at the Y.O. Ranch in Texas. (Style of Life: Sports).
December 1, 2000... SITTING IN A HUNTING BLIND AT SUNSET with more than a dozen exotic antelope less than 100 yards away, or standing at the top of a hill and listening to the clarion call of a fallow deer, it is easy to understand the draw of the Y.O. Ranch....

Health havens: US hospitals have taken a renewed interest in Latin American executive health care, largely in pursuit of profit. The result for patients is a wider array of choices. (Style of life: Health).
December 1, 2000... THERE'S A JOKE THAT'S NATIVE TO THE region, and it goes like this: If you're wealthy and you're ill, what do you take? Answer: American Airlines. It's an old saying, but it has never been more pertinent. For years, the wealthy of Latin...

Lessons from the trade frontlines: control of the agenda for free trade in the Americas is slipping from the US to Mexico. (Final Thoughts).
December 1, 2000... FOR MANY YEARS, THE UNITED STATES preached the virtues of free-market economics to Mexico and other Latin American countries, while Latin Americans remained suspicious of this market gospel. Now, it appears that the tables are turning. Just...

Telefonos de Mexico. (Portfolio: Mexico).
December 1, 2000... In the ongoing regulatory battle to open Mexico's telephony markets, Telefonos de Mexico has obtained an injunction against regulators' orders to lower its network interconnection fees to US 1.25 cents per minute from US 3.36 cents per minute.