LatAm Free Trade Zones: Are they Really Built to Support BPO and IT?
November 16th, 2011By Jeff Pappas
Over the years, the US has been Latin America’s primary outside investor and leading trading partner, followed by Western Europe. Latin America’s leading imports in past years have included cars, chemicals, electrical equipment, farm machinery, and pharmaceuticals, while its leading exports include bananas, coffee, cotton, meat, wood, and rubber.
Latin American Economies Gain in Global Competitiveness
October 3rd, 2011
By Robert L. Scheier
The World Economic Forum essentially gave a big round of applause to the tiger economies of Latin America recently, with it annual Global Competitiveness Report. Chile, Mexico and Brazil showed strong advancement – but one Caribbean country also is rising in the ranks, despite a bit of a quiet demeanor.
Uncontrollable factors such as rising commodity prices, as well as intentional choices such as business-friendly policies and modest levels of public debt, have set a foundation for the region to boost the fortunes of its economies and populations. But to take their game to the next level, the WEF recommends, these countries should focus on improving education, trust in public institutions and their transportation infrastructure.
Ortega’s Head of Foreign Investment Opens Up about BPO, Venezuela and Getting the Facts Out There
August 22nd, 2011
By Luke Bujarski
In an exclusive behind-closed-doors interview, Nearshore Americas and market research firm Ovum teamed up to speak with Mr. Alvaro Baltodano, politically appointed head of investment promotion for Nicaragua’s Ortega Administration. From labor capacity to investor perceptions, Mr. Baltodano was very well informed and open to talk about the key issues.
“Pro-Business” Ortega Makes Surprise Appearance at Nicaragua Conference
August 17th, 2011
NSAM's Luke Bujarski meets with Ortega in Managua
President Daniel Ortega made a surprise appearance last night at “Let’s Grow Together“, an International Investment forum organized by ProNicaragua and being held in Managua. In a surprise turn of events, “El Presidente” arrived at the Hotel Intercontinental to address a crowd of 150 foreign and domestic investors and economic development professionals.
In total, 65 companies from Latin America, Taiwan and the United States are at the event watching closely for signs of true investment potential and a commitment from government officials.
By Patrick Haller
When President Obama made a tour of Brazil, Chile and El Salvador in March 2011, many saw this as a signal of his commitment to the region, and a positive sign that the US would be endeavoring to shore-up its trade relations there.
Can a Regional Alliance Lift Up Central America?
May 25th, 2011
By Brendan Wolters | The Solace Group
There has been a push toward regionalization in Central America. Government and business leaders understand the importance of uniting a region inhabited by an estimated 42,000,000 people. Officials believe they must work together to build economies that compete on a global scale.
As El Salvador President Mauricio Funes said at a summit meeting in 2010, “Only by joining forces would we be able to lift our peoples from . . . poverty.” But, much like everything else in Central America, regionalization has moved at a snail’s pace. Each country faces political, social, and economic challenges that hamper development. (See the section at the end of this article for a snapshot of each country’s current economic situation.)
Egypt Violence: Could it Happen in Latin America?
February 3rd, 2011As protests in Egypt continue, Latin American bloggers are drawing historical parallels with similar uprisings in the region and some are wondering: “Could it happen here now?”
In The Mex Files, Rich compares Egypt’s situation to Porfirio Diaz’ 30-year rule in Mexico –which fell during the Mexican Revolution– in his post, “Walk like an Egyptian: Porfirio to Mubarak.” Rich concludes his analysis looking at Mexico today: “Mexicans are not — one trusts — as desperate as the Egyptians, or at least not in the numbers seen in Cairo. But, what will happen if the Mexicans decide it is time for a giant leap in Mexican power, in which the people of the largest Spanish-speaking nation demand that they be allowed to fulfill their potential?”
Greg Weeks writes about the similarities and differences between Nicaragua and Egypt from a historical perspective in his …
Off Hours: Nicaragua Tops List of World’s Best Retirement Havens
November 22nd, 2010As we move toward the start of the new year, it’s time to take a look at the world map to identify the world’s top retirement havens for 2011. Depending on the size of your retirement budget, here’s where you should be looking to realize the adventure-filled retirement of your dreams.
Super Affordable
1. Nicaragua — specifically Leon, Granada, and San Juan del Sur. Nicaragua is more attractive than ever for one important reason: It’s a super cheap place to live. I’ve been a fan of this misunderstood country since my first visit nearly 20 years ago. Property values, especially for beachfront property along the Pacific, reached bubble status last decade. Today prices are more realistic and more negotiable. In the meantime, the cost-of-living has remained seriously low. And last year Nicaragua inaugurated a new and improved foreign retiree …
Nicaragua Experiences Strong Recovery in Exports
February 2nd, 2010The Nicaragua export sector began to show good signs this year as foreign sales in January surpassed those in the same month of 2009.
A preliminary report of the Center for Export Procedures (CETREX) indicates that exports last month increased by 33.01 percent in value, from 96.7 million dollars in January 2009 at 128.6 million dollars in January just past.
In January last year the exports by 96.7 million dollars had meant a decrease of 27.75 percent in the value of foreign sales, versus 2008. In volume terms during the first month of this year it had to export a 48.6 percent increase in January last year, from 87.1 million kilograms in 2009 to 129.4 million kg last month.
The executive director of the Center for Export Procedures Jorge Molina told reporters that while there was a recovery in January, “the situation is still unclear. “It’s premature to say he …
From Russia With Love: WiMax Mobile Broadband Comes to Nicaragua
December 15th, 2009Russia’s Yota, the mobile services developer and provider and one of the world’s leaders in Mobile WiMAX (4G) technology, has announced the test run of the mobile broadband 4th-generation Internet access network in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. The Yota network was rolled out in record time – in three months since the beginning of construction.
During the press conference attended by representatives of WiMAX Forum, Intel and Samsung, the strategic partners of Yota, journalists were told about the project and its perspectives in details.
Ricardo Olarte, Northern Cone General Manager of Intel, said that “the broadband penetration in Latin America is very low, and is the reason why the initiative taken by Nicaragua will allow a significant leap in the adoption of new technologies placing the country at the forefront and generating a positive effect in people and businesses to improve the competitiveness of it.”
In July 2009, the public international tender …
