It’s July of 1990, and the two Germany’s have just united, marking the end of the Cold War, and capped with West Germany’s soccer World Cup victory over Argentina.

As the images of the defeated players travelled the world (who can forget Diego Maradona’s tears?), in New York, a Latin American company was symbolically ending the lost decade. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since that summer when the Telephone Company of Chile (CTC) managed to get listed on Wall Street, for an amount that seems quaint today – $75 million.

Two decades later, developed countries are in the middle of an unprecedented crisis and investors are turning to Latin America. With its positive growth rates, large investment projects, controlled inflation, rising commodity prices and political stability, Latin America and its companies have become very attractive.

Companies like Ecopetrol from Colombia, Pacamayao from Peru and Cencosud from Chile have shown this by ringing the bell in the most important stock exchange in the world, as well as by attracting investors to local stock exchanges.

How can we take advantage of the momentum and transform it into a structural change?

For Jorge Errazuriz, the Chilean president of Celfin Capital who worked on the CTC listing, Latin America has to believe in itself more. He also says that the ideal situation would be for more of the investments to happen through local stock exchanges, something that is already taking place.

And it is not only foreign investors who are taking note. There are many new investment funds popping up around Latin America and investing in local projects, particularly in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, which are considered the largest markets in the region. Taken together, these markets are capitalized at $3.9 billion.

The rest of Latin America, on the other hand, is generating little interest, given the size of their stock exchanges and the number of companies listed. “They are what’s called borderline economies, which implies that the liquidity, rules and regulations are not attractive or stable enough for investors to invest without major risks,” explains Daniel Velandia, a Colombian economic researcher.

Integrated markets and synergy

Velandia says there is a lot of opportunity in the Latin American Integrated Market (MILA), which includes Peru, Chile and Colombia. The three countries have complementary strengths; Chile has financial and retail companies, Colombia has energy companies and Peru mining companies. Although Colombia and Peru have relatively few listed companies, the integrated market can generate a lot of positive synergy. It could get even better, if Mexico decides to join the MILA.

However, experts agree that the MILA hasn’t taken off yet, due to a lack of standard practices among the different countries. According to Errazuriz, the countries in MILA should act like their financial markets were part of a “United States of Latin America.”

“All of the markets should be interrelated, so that someone here could buy stock in Mexico with the same ease as if he or she were in Mexico,” says Jaime Humberto Lopez, president of the Colombia Association of Stock Exchange Agents.

As attractive as it is, the region still faces risks that derive, at least in part, from its own success. An example that illustrates the challenges for the region, according to analysts, is the situation in Brazil, where a revaluation of the currency caused volatility in the markets.

For Sandra Manuelito, an economic affairs officer at CEPAL, the resistance among Latin American companies to list themselves on the stock market is another limiting factor. “Many of the companies in the region belong to families or small groups, and listing on the stock market means opening up the company and sharing control,” she explained.

Companies are also reluctant to make their information public, which is one of the conditions to listing on the stock market. The different actors in the financial markets have to convince companies of the advantages of being listed in the stock exchange.

Up to a certain point, that is working, because investors are clamoring for new offerings. But in spite of it all, both analysts and stock exchange directors agree that they should avoid artificially accelerating the transition.

Juan Pablo Cordoba, the president of Colombia’s stock exchange, sums it up well, “We’re talking about a major structural change, about how to convert this global economy into a source of financing and growth.”

Source: World Crunch
Article in the original language

San Jose’s “Barrio Chino” (Chinatown) has received its gateway, a pagoda-like roof affair hovering over the street known as Paseo de los Estudiantes.

The half million dollar structure designed by a Costa Rican architect, Mariano Ureña, (who is not Chinese or even Chinese/Costa Rican) will be the crowning touch on a project begun during the Arias Administration.

The entranceway to the street will be 40 feet high and 50 feet wide, large enough to permit passage of the country’s largest fire engine in case of emergency.

The design has a heavy Tang dynasty influence except that eight concrete spheres are incorporated in it to evoke an idea of pre-Columbian spheres which most archaeologists attribute to early indigenous tribes.

The original idea of the barrio in southeastern San Jose is to group Chinese businesses there in tribute to the rich cultural heritage brought by Chinese immigrants.

The district had a few Chinese restaurants in the area but no more than other business districts. Signs of blight were appearing in the district once filled with hardware stores that have now moved to malls.

However, not far from Paseo de los Estudiantes, two of the best Chinese restaurants in the country have done business for years — the Tin-Jo and the Don Wang.

San Jose’s Chinatown is expected to be finished in November.

Source: Fijatevos.com

Quick thinking by two observers. who risked their own lives. rescued an indigent from an attack by two pit bull guard dogs in Desamparados Thursday, reported the national newspaper La Nacion.

Jose Luis Jimenez, 30, was collecting discarded aluminum and plastic to sell to recyclers from the Cucubres River bed when the two dogs guarding shops on one river bank attacked him.

Jimenez was rushed to San Juan de Dios Hospital for deep bites on arms and legs and was reported in stable condition after surgery to his left arm where the most damage had been inflicted.

But undoubtedly the attack would have had even more serious — even fatal — consequences if an unidentified high school student and maintenance man Marvin Machado had not rushed to rescue Jimenez.

Disregarding the risk to their lives, the pair administered a swift blow to the nose of the largest dog with a stout stick. The dog retreated. The smaller dog decided to discontinue the assault.

An official at Monseñor Sanabria High School had warned Jimenez not to continue along the riverbed due to the dogs that guarded shops on the river banks. But Jimenez ignored the warning.

One high school official said the dogs run loose during the day. They are prevented from entering school grounds by a wall but he asked, “What would happen if a student falls into the river?”

The dogs were identified as a cross between pit bulls and American Staffordshires but this was undoubtedly a misidentification. Ticos tend to identify any large, aggressive dog as a pit bull.

Moreover, other breeds are often incorrectly called pit bulls including Rottweilers.

But Desamparados, a southern suburb of San Jose, has a real problem with dog attacks. Most attacks have been from dogs trained (read, “made vicious”) in order to contest other canines in illegal fighting rings.

Source: Fijatevos

Quick thinking by two observers. who risked their own lives. rescued an indigent from an attack by two pit bull guard dogs in Desamparados Thursday, reported the national newspaper La Nacion.

Jose Luis Jimenez, 30, was collecting discarded aluminum and plastic to sell to recyclers from the Cucubres River bed when the two dogs guarding shops on one river bank attacked him.

Jimenez was rushed to San Juan de Dios Hospital for deep bites on arms and legs and was reported in stable condition after surgery to his left arm where the most damage had been inflicted.

But undoubtedly the attack would have had even more serious — even fatal — consequences if an unidentified high school student and maintenance man Marvin Machado had not rushed to rescue Jimenez.

Disregarding the risk to their lives, the pair administered a swift blow to the nose of the largest dog with a stout stick. The dog retreated. The smaller dog decided to discontinue the assault.

An official at Monseñor Sanabria High School had warned Jimenez not to continue along the riverbed due to the dogs that guarded shops on the river banks. But Jimenez ignored the warning.

One high school official said the dogs run loose during the day. They are prevented from entering school grounds by a wall but he asked, “What would happen if a student falls into the river?”

The dogs were identified as a cross between pit bulls and American Staffordshires but this was undoubtedly a misidentification. Ticos tend to identify any large, aggressive dog as a pit bull.

Moreover, other breeds are often incorrectly called pit bulls including Rottweilers.

But Desamparados, a southern suburb of San Jose, has a real problem with dog attacks. Most attacks have been from dogs trained (read, “made vicious”) in order to contest other canines in illegal fighting rings.

The Cerveceria Costa Rica (Florida Ice and Farm) – Costa Rica’s brewery –  has complained that vast amounts of beer are entering Costa Rica at very low prices.

The complaint, originally made to the Directorate General of Taxation so that this institution could verify that the correct taxes were paid on these imports, was later presented to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) as a suspected case of dumping or unfair competition.

An article in Nacion.com reports that “The Treasury Office to which the Directorate of Taxation belongs confirms the complaint and said that the Comptroller of Taxation is conducting a review of the profit margins in order to follow up with the importers, wholesalers and retail sellers. The Treasury Office added that the Directorate General of Customs, another of its dependent offices, will check the prices and recommended that the interested party redirect the complaint to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) for investigation into the theme of dumping or unfair competition. ”

“The numbers reflect a significant increase in beer imports. It 2008, the country imported this product for a value of $5.9 million. It dipped to $3.9 million the next year because of the impact of the economic crisis, but last year it amounted to $6.9 million. Between January and April of this year (latest data available), imports of malt beer were valued at around $2.65 million, according to the web Page of the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer) citing data from the Central Bank. ”

Source: Costa Rica Star

Cerveceria Costa Rica

Cerveceria Costa Rica is a brewery in San José, Costa Rica, known as the home of Imperial.

Florida Ice & Farm Co. started in 1908 in La Florida de Siquirres, Costa Rica. It was started by the Lindo Morales brothers. At first, the company used to make ice for the banana ships that would come to Limón.

In 1912, the Lindo Brothers bought the Cerveceria y refresqueria Traube, which had been started by Jose Traube, in Cartago. From then on, FIFCO’s main business went from producing ice, to producing beverages, and through its main operation, it would be later known as Cerveceria Costa Rica.

Source: Wikipedia