Latin America

Ratified by more than 110 of 164 member countries, the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has gone into force, launching “a new phase for trade facilitation reforms all over the world,” according to the WTO.

Paraguay has emerged from the shadows of its larger neighbors Brazil and Argentina to become the “little China” of South America. Its against-the-odds economic success story is sustained by an investment-friendly climate and strong fiscal discipline.

New mayor of São Paolo João Doria, a businessman, plans to sell the racing circuit of Interlagos and the operation of Pacaembu soccer stadium.

António Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal and UN high commissioner for refugees, took over on January 1 for a five-year term as the United Nations secretary general. The fact that Guterres ran a major UN agency during a global refugee crisis would help him to focus on ways to better integrate the various UN operations and to partner with other institutions. 

Panama has a claim as economic growth champion of Central America. Still, for investors, growth isn’t everything, and in Panama, corruption is a significant problem. 

With alternative lending on the rise, Brazil seeks to establish new and reliable sources of financial information.

Columbian voters stunned observers on October 2 by rejecting the peace deal between the government of president Juan Manuel Santos and the guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), despite a 52-year civil war that has claimed approximately 220,000 ...

The Felaban Annual Assembly in Buenos Aires in November is expected to be one of the biggest networking events of the year for international bankers.

Foreign-currency bonds offer Argentina needed resources but come with heavy risks.

Latin American nations seeking fiscal fixes encounter a wide variety of factors beyond their control.

CREDIT LINE | On a visit to Argentina in August, Citi CEO Michael Corbat met with the country’s pro-market president, Mauricio Macri, and announced a $3.5 billion line of credit for the bank’s 1,300 corporate and institutional clients in the country.

Frontier Markets Report: Cuba
Obstacles and contradictions mar Cuba’s environment for foreign direct investment, but its market offers a wealth of opportunity.

Brazil | Pedro Parente, who was appointed CEO of state-controlled oil producer Petrobras on May 19, brings both corporate and government experience to the new role.

Peru | Even though Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was elected Peru’s new president by a whisker, his victory was greeted with enthusiasm at home and abroad.

Brazil | Despite the optimistic expectations in 2009, when Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the competition in August is not likely to show Brazil in the best light.

Brazil
Well known for his caution, Brazil Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles is well aware of the enormity of his nation’s fiscal hole. Brazil is likely to report a primary deficit of $36 billion this year, instead of the $6.8 billion surplus previously forecast.

While Latin American economies are expected to shrink by roughly 1% this year, Mexico is slated to grow 2.2%.

It’s been a long time coming, but Argentina is finally back. In mid-April, after being frozen out of global capital markets for 15 years, the country sold $16.5 billion of debt in an offering that was more than four times oversubscribed—the biggest bond ever sold in an emerging market.

Milestones | Brazil
In this time of recession, Brazil’s economy is becoming more agribusiness-oriented. The sector generated 23% of Brazilian GDP last year, after 21.4% in 2014, and accounted for 46.3% of total exports.

Milestones | Argentina
As Argentina prepares to launch a new bond issue in April, marking its return to international capital markets, investors are once again turning their attention to Buenos Aires, which has known 15 years of isolation.