Latin Trade

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Ticket to ride.(Ask The Concierge)
Why can't I print my boarding pass for international flights? According to major airlines serving Latin America, you are better off checking in at the counter for international flights. Many count . . .

Checking into Buenos Aires: a devalued currency means business for online apartment rental procurers.(Real Estate)
When the Argentine economy imploded in December 2001, Pablo Blay and Mariana Travacio were facing disaster with their three-year-old business, ByT Argentina Travel & Housing, an online listing of re . . .

Southern skies: a profitable Uruguayan airline becomes the latest takeover target.(Aviation)
South America is full of well-known airlines. Chile's LAN, Brazil's Varig and Argentina's Aerolineas Argentinas have been carrying passengers across the continent for years. U.S. and European airlin . . .

Travelers find exceptional hotels in Latin America.(Special Advertising Feature)(Advertisement)
Travelers can choose from many quality hotels throughout Latin America, but will likely return again and again to those they feel offer an exceptionally good stay. Although the definition of an ex . . .

Espirito Santo Plaza residences: living on vacation.(Focus On)(Advertisement)
UNPARALLELED URBAN LUXURY AT ONE OF MIAMI'S most desirable new addresses awaits residents of Espirito Santo Plaza, the city's newly completed architectural icon. Espirito Santo Plaza, a $200 milli . . .

Digital sensations.(Special Advertising Feature)(Advertisement)
Few trends in electronics have taken the consumer market by storm like digital imaging. Nearly 300 million digital image capture devices are expected to be in use worldwide by the end of 2004, accor . . .

Sweet deal: Argentine candy maker sees new business in its own port.(Trade Lanes)(Brief Article)
A new port will grow from a sweet dream to a moneymaking reality for Argentine candy producer Axcor. The company will spend US$20 million to build its own port in San Pedro, about 150 kilometers nor . . .

Portside politics: a Bolivian railroad operator seeks access to the Chilean coast.(Privatization)
Bolivians may finally have access to the sea. Or at least one might. This month Chile will accept bids from companies interested in operating the port at Arica, a town on the Peruvian border, and . . .

Shape up or ship out: new regulations have Brazil's port operators rushing to upgrade security.(Ports)
It's June 30, 2004. A cargo ship loaded with containers approaches the Brazilian coast, scheduled for a quick stop at a shipping terminal. It drops off some boxes, picks up some others and heads to . . .

Postage due: Mexico's postal service fights to dominate the lucrative lightweight package delivery service.(Services)
The Mexican postal service Sepomex wants your business. In fact, if you want to send a package under 350 grams, Sepomex wants to make sure it is your only choice. Sepomex has been calling for lega . . .

Hot hands.(Connection)(Brief Article)
Demand for cellular telephones is surging in Latin America, especially in Argentina, where the market is reemerging from the ashes of financial crises. In Argentina, consumers are expected to buy . . .

Pipeline.(Connection)
MOTOROLA V600 Cellular telephone www.motorola.com Roams globally, downloads MP3 ringtones and catches color news, sports and video clips Just released CANON POWERSHOT S500 Digital camera . . .

Gear box.(Connection)
PALMONE TREO 600 SMARTPHONE Wireless phone Price: US$599 www.palmone.com * The Good The product combines a telephone, a camera and an organzier in a light handheld unit. The product is gre . . .

Cow chips: an Argentine company hopes to graze top dollars on a cattle identification system.(Food Safety)
Argentines can do something now that nobody else can do--they can read the life story of the cows that produced the steak they eat. And they can do it all on microchip. The U.S. beef industry will . . .

Hack job: tech savvy Brazil becomes a haven for those who dwell on the dark side of technology--hackers.(Security)
Brazil quicky embraces new technology, yet the country is becoming a haven for cybercrooks who rob hanks. And the loot is adding up. A 23-year-old Brazilian hacker from the east-central city of Go . . .

Half full, and rising: investment pros are bullish on a recovery led by stocks--U.S. interest rates and elections not withstandi
The bulls are limping along while the bears are still mostly hibernating in 2004, at least for now. Despite some investors' jitters about, among other things, the health of the world economy, stocks . . .

The US$80 billion man.(Brazil's Luiz Fernando Furlan)(Interview)
Brazilian exports are expected to break records in 2004, which would be good news on top of good news. After hitting a $24 billion trade surplus in 2003, also a record and an 89% increase over the p . . .

A seller's market: as trade deals kick in and economies ignite, Latin America's hot exporters reap the rewards.(Cover Story)
As talks for a free trade area for the hemisphere seem mired down, the biggest actors in the market, Mexico. Brazil and the United States, are driving forward with side deals and global plans. A slu . . .

Brand TV: Argentine airtime goes cheap, so advertisers go long--with their own shows.(Marketing)
Martin leaves his gated-community home to pick up his cultured brother and mother from the airport then, as he tells his stuffy wife, instead drove to the state prison. So begins a television comedy . . .

Ready, set, stop: gas sales to a ravenous North American market should have saved South American suppliers. Yet they might be ta
Indigenous groups in Bolivia not only ousted Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada last year. They also raised doubts about a multi-billion dollar project to export natural gas from Bolivia t . . .

Standing up to Redmond: government has a choice to make on software spending, and it should be free to do so.(Silicon Jack)
In raising the banner of software libre--free software--Brazil may have sparked a rebellion against a corporate titan that could have repercussions for the rest of Latin America. President Luiz In . . .

Big bank watch: net income as of Dec. 31, 2003.(Radar)(Brief Article)
DEAR SHAREHOLDERS ... * Banco de Chile In 2003, Chile's second-largest bank in terms of assets managed, earned US$218 million in 2003, or 150% more than it did in 2002. The bank credited lower o . . .

Rockers without borders.(Radar)(Brief Article)
Latin American music fans have something new to rave about. VH1 Latinoamerica has begun broadcasting in Latin America, treating viewers to original programming favorites such as Behind the Music, Be . . .

Signing off.(Radar)(Brief Article)
The Venezuelan Supreme Court dealt a blow to the political opposition of President Hugo Chavez when it rejected signatures from a referendum to yank the president from office. The opposition needed . . .

Pay back.(Radar)(Brief Article)
Latin Americans living abroad sent a record US$38 billion to friends and family back home during 2003, or $6 billion more than they did a year earlier. Those payments, known as remittances, inject m . . .

Good news on the air.(Radar)(Brief Article)
No Central American country needs an image makeover as badly as Nicaragua. The country seems to make the international press only in times of war, natural disasters or corruption scandals. But that' . . .

Chat line.(Radar)(Brief Article)
"There is lots of room for financial engineering."--Roberto Lavagna, Argentine economy minister (Financial Times) . . .

Home-grown grape.(Radar)(Brief Article)
A French wine expert wandering through a vineyard near Santiago spotted out-of-place reddish leaves among merlot grapes. Tests confirmed the grape was not a merlot but a carmenere, which had disappe . . .

Bolivia filed a lawsuit against bankrupt U.S. energy company Enron in hopes of recovering US$130 million it paid in 1994 for a g
Bolivia filed a lawsuit against bankrupt U.S. energy company Enron in hopes of recovering US$130 million it paid in 1994 for a gas pipeline project linking the landlocked country and Brazil. The Bol . . .

Brazilian Regional Electoral Court.(Corruption)(Brief Article)
A Brazilian Regional Electoral Court in the State of Piaui found federal lawmaker Antonio Jose De Moraes Souza guilty of bribing voters during political campaigns by giving away free medication, inc . . .

Mexican beverage company Femsa, through its U.S. subsidiary Wisdom Import Sales, filed a lawsuit to block the transfer of a mino
Mexican beverage company Femsa, through its U.S. subsidiary Wisdom Import Sales, filed a lawsuit to block the transfer of a minority stake in the Labatt USA unit of Belgium's Interbrew to Brazil's A . . .

The World Trade Organization has ruled that telecommunications regulations in Mexico, which require connection with Mexican oper
The World Trade Organization has ruled that telecommunications regulations in Mexico, which require connection with Mexican operators to complete calls coming from the United States, violate interna . . .

Colombia's Congress approved an anti-terrorism bill that, if passed, would allow the military to detain individuals, search home
Colombia's Congress approved an anti-terrorism bill that, if passed, would allow the military to detain individuals, search homes and intercept communications without judicial warrant. Amnesty Inter . . .

Crystallex, a Canadian mining company, has appointed BNP Paribas, a French financial institution, to advise on the project finan
CRYSTALLEX, a Canadian mining company, has appointed BNP Paribas, a French financial institution, to advise on the project financing of the miner's Las Cristinas gold mine in southern Venezuela. Deu . . .

ChevronTexaco.(Venezuela)(Brief Article)
CHEVRONTEXACO, a U.S. oil company, won a license to explore for natural gas off Venezuela's Atlantic coast, as part of the company's plan to increase natural gas access for the United States. Terms . . .

Crystallex.(Venezuela)(Brief Article)
CRYSTALLEX, a Canadian mining company, awarded a US$28 million engineering procurement and construction management contract to Canadian engineering company SNC-Lavalin to work on its Las Cristinas g . . .

Ready for takeoff.(Panorama)(Brief Article)
Airlines from all over the region are looking at bankrupt Colombian airline Avianca as a potential asset. Brazilian conglomerate Grupo Sinergy has proposed to take the carrier out of bankruptcy by t . . .

Capital Gold.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
CAPITAL GOLD, a U.S. mining company, raised to 95% from 70% its stake in Mexican gold mine El Chanate, buying out Grupo Minero of Mexico, which retains the remaining 5%. High gold prices prompted Ca . . .

Mexico has reopened its market to selected U.S. beef imports, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.(Mexico)(
MEXICO has reopened its market to selected U.S. beef imports, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Mexico's gradual ease on its U.S. beef ban has given the United States access . . .

Kellogg Company.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
KELLOGG COMPANY, a U.S. food company, will begin construction on a new production facility in Toluca, Mexico, the company's third manufacturing operation in the country. Terms were not disclosed. . . .

Mexican Business Mogul Carlos Slim.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
MEXICAN BUSINESS MOGUL CARLOS SLIM acquired a 5% stake in U.S. telecommunications company Global Crossing for an undisclosed sum. ST Telemedia, of Singapore, still maintains its majority ownership o . . .

The milkman cometh.(Panorama)(Brief Article)
As the smoke from the US$18 billion Parmalat accounting explosion began to clear, the Italian government's appointed company administrator Enrico Bondi launched a global corporate restructuring plan . . .

Grupo Televisa.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
GRUPO TELEVISA, a Mexican media company, will restructure its shares to incorporate certain stocks of Grupo Televicentro, Televisa's holding company. Televisa says the move will not dilute the equit . . .

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, a Japanese manufacturer, opened a subsidiary in Mexico City as part of a company plan to attract business from large plants in Mexico as well as explore business opportu . . .

Grupo Bimbo.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
GRUPO BIMBO, a Mexican bread company, paid US$26 million to take over confectionery companies Joyco de Mexico, Alimentos Dural, and Lolimen from Spain's Corporacion Agrolimen and a group of Mexican . . .

Bank of Nova Scotia.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, a Canadian bank, paid nearly US$53 minion for a 6.3% stake in its Mexican subsidiary Scotiabank-Inverlat, raising its ownership in the bank to 97.3%. The Canadian bank said it i . . .

Empresas ICA.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
EMPRESAS ICA, a Mexican construction company, signed four government contracts valued at more than US$89 million to develop road projects in Hidalgo and Puebla. Empresas ICA also will build a hospit . . .

Grupo Elektra.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
GRUPO ELEKTRA, a Mexican conglomerate, redeemed US$275 million in senior notes that were due in 2008. Grupo Elektra said the move allows the company to save $40 million in financial expenses as well . . .

Mexico announced that it reached a free trade agreement with Japan following negotiations that began in late 2002.(Mexico)(Brief
MEXICO announced that it reached a free trade agreement with Japan following negotiations that began in late 2002. Neither country gave a specific date for the signing of the accord, which is expect . . .

Codensa.(Colombia)(Brief Article)
CODENSA, a Colombian unit: of Spanish electricity company Endesa, issued US$187 million in bonds maturing over the next 10 years. Codensa said the move was part of a plan to replace short-term debt . . .