201811.06
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TLA Times | November 06, 2018

in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, TLA News

SNAPSHOT

Cellphone subscriptions per 100 people in Panama.

 

 

 

 

Source: data.worldbank.org

EXCHANGE RATE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figures from Nov 1st Source: www.xe.com

FUN IN THE SUN

Museum showcases engineering wonder.
  
The Panama Canal Museum highlights the nation and the man-made marvel that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The museum’s home is a building that was constructed in 1874 as a grand hotel. It later served as offices for the companies involved in building the canal and then as government offices. The museum opened in 1996 and covers the ill-fated French attempt to build the canal, the successful American effort and the transfer of control of the canal from the United States to Panama. Details
ARGENTINA

Soybean, grain, other farm exports offset some effects of recession.

Argentina, which has raised taxes and cut spending to satisfy fiscal requirements of the International Monetary Fund, has been limping along economically. But one bright spot has been agriculture, Channel News Asia reports. Agriculture, led by soy beans, accounts for about half of the foreign currency that comes into the country, one economist says. Or as one farmer puts it: "Other countries have oil, but Argentina depends on its agricultural production." Details

BRAZIL

Brazilian state oil company selling operations in Nigeria. 

Expatica reports that Petrobras, trying to regain its footing after a major corruption scandal, is selling its 50 percent interest in Nigerian operations for $1.4 billion to a Vitol, a Dutch energy-trading firm. Petrobras has been selling off pieces of its portfolio to focus on operations off the Brazilian coast. The company announced its largest profit since 2011 in the second quarter. Details

PERU

Electric bus operating in Lima’s San Isidro district.

A Chinses-made bus has been hauling passengers in the financial district of Peru’s capital city for about a month, China.org.cn reports. Officials unveiled the bus for a wider audience last week at the 2018 ElectroTransporte trade show. The bus is a joint project of Engie Energy Peru and BYD, a Chinese vehicle maker. The cost of operating the bus is about 20 percent to 30 percent lower than a conventional bus, Engie business development manager Ivan Veloso says. Details

MEXICO

Carlos Slim among big losers from airport project’s cancellation.

Carlos Slim, who owns most of the shares in the real estate investment trust/limited partnership that was financing the construction of a second major Mexico City airport, stands to lose big on the project’s cancellation, Bloomberg reports.  Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the incoming president who had been critical of the project, called it off following an informal referendum. The fear is that the leftist Lopez Obrador will take similar action on mining and oil contracts. Details

Proposed Maya railroad project possible boom for Yucatan real estate.

While the incoming government might not be so hot on spending to make plane travel easier, it does seem to have enthusiasm for train travel in the Yucatan Peninsula. The Maya Train, a 1,500-kilometer rail project, is expected to attract 150 billion pesos in the investment from private and government sources. Real estate holders are likely to benefit from the project. “Generally, a new transport route detonates multiple development nodes that improve the real estate cycle of these areas,” says Leonardo González Tejeda, real estate analyst at Propiedades.com. Details