News on Bond Funds in the Emerging Market

Lately all of hottest bond funds on the market stem from emerging-market debt funds. Not only are these bond funds offering better returns than most U.S. funds and even generous returns (Mexican issues have paid more than 6 percent), but they are a way to get away from the weak dollar. In only 4 weeks, investors have poured more than $1.7 billion into emerging-market bond funds, according to fund researcher Lipper Inc., more than any other fixed-income fund category. Investing in government and corporate debt from developing nations like Mexico, Brazil and Russia, has seen inflows of $11.4 billion, up 20% from a year earlier. "A larger portion of portfolios that have historically been dominated by developed countries are increasingly flowing to emerging markets," says Ramin Toloui, one of the leaders of the emerging markets portfolio management team for Pimco.

Chihuahua, Mexico is Largest Importer of Maquila Supplies

It has been reported that the State of Chihuahua is the largest maquila supplies importer in Mexico, according to the Mexican Statistics Agency, INEGI. The news correlates with preexisting data like that fact that Chihuahua is the state with the largest number of workers in this sector, accounting for over 13% of the total in Mexico. Chihuahua is followed by Nuevo Leon and Baja California ranks third. Supplies are the components used to assemble products at plants in Mexico, to be later shipped abroad as finished products, as defined by INEGI.

Mexican Peso Up Against Dollar

This morning's news on Mexico investment could start no other way but with the good news that the Mexican peso has risen again against the dollar. Today the peso has bounced back from the steep loss in the previous session that took it near 12.50 pesos to the dollar. In this week's mexico investment news, there have been reports as to why the peso is rising: First of all, Mexico's foreign reserves are helping to boost the peso, moving up by $1.59 billion last week to a record $136.13 billion, according to the Bank of Mexico. While the State oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, remained the principal source of reserves as it sold $1 billion to the central bank last week, the remainder came from an increase in the value of the central bank's reserve holdings and other transactions.

Carlos Slim increases his stake in NY Times

Just weeks after the New York Times repaid the emergency $250m loan that it took from the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu in 2009, it has been reported today that the billionaire has increased his stake in the New York Times Company. Mr Slim’s Inmobiliaria Carso SA also increased his stake in Saks, the luxury retailer, from 15.7 per cent to 16 per cent on the same day. “We are buying because we feel that the shares are at a very good price, and we are increasing our holdings in the two companies,” said Arturo Elias Ayub, Mr Slim’s son-in-law and head of strategic alliances at Telmex, Mr Slim’s fixed-line phone company. Through the purchase of 553,000 class A shares, Mr. Slim upped his stake from 6.9 per cent to 7.3 per cent, according to a regulatory filing. The new holdings, acquired on August 18 for between $6.83 and $7.09 per share, were purchased by Mr Slim’s Inmobiliaria Carso SA investment fund and came at the end of a volatile week on the stock market.

Aerospace Manufacturing in Mexico: Introduction

Via The Offshore Group:
Aerospace manufacturing in Mexico has made great strides over the course of the last decade. Developing a domestic industry is one of the national government’s highest economic priorities. While in 2004, aerospace companies operating in Mexico exported a total of $146 million worth of products, the number had risen to $3.5 billion in 2010. Aerospace manufacturing in Mexico takes place in a total of sixteen Mexican states. The industry, however, is concentrated in five major clusters that are located in the following geographical areas: Sonora Baja California Chihuahua Nuevo Leon Queretaro While each area has its specialties, the Sonora aerospace cluster is rapidly becoming a center for precision aerospace machining in Mexico. Aerospace Manufacturing in Mexico today consists of 232 companies that employ an approximate 29,000 workers. In terms of activity, these companies breakdown in the following way: Manufacturing: 79% MRO: 11% Design and Engineering: 10% Estimates are that aerospace manufacturing in Mexico will grow up t0 20 percent per annum through 2016. It is projected that the Mexican aerospace industry will, at that time, consist of approximately 350 companies and will employ a total of 37,000 workers. Recent research has shown companies that are manufacturing in Mexico save between 28% – 34% of the cost of doing so in other higher cost countries. Click here for more information.

Mexican Stock Exchange: IPC Index Up

This morning the IPC index is still in the green at 0.606% or a value of 33,337.660 MXN. Check out the interactive stock chart (pictured above) here.

Investor Interest in Mexico Stays Strong

Via MexicoToday.org: According to the Mexico’s Economy Ministry, foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled $31 billion between December 2006 and December 2010, up $1 billion from the previous four years, according to Financial Times. Mexico’s Finance Minister projected that the country’s second-quarter GDP expanded 3.5% year-over-year, according to Reuters. The Minister also forecasts economic growth of 4.3% this year. Click here for the full story. What are your experiences with the Mexican market?

Honda to Invest 800$ Million in Mexico

The Wall Street Journal - Honda Motor Co. will build an $800 million plant near Celaya, Guanajuato, to make subcompact cars for the North American market. The plant is scheduled to open in 2014 and employ 3,200 workers.

New Data: Less Unemployment and More Payrolls

The Labor Department said today that the U.S. economy has added more jobs than expected in July and the unemployment rate is down slightly, data that should help ease spreading concerns that a new recession may be around the corner. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 117,000 in June as private-sector employers added 154,000 jobs. Payroll data for the previous two months were revised up by a total 56,000 to show increases of 46,000 jobs in June and 53,000 in May. Source: WSJ.com

Mexico's Cotton Plantations to Practically Double by 2016

"Mexico plans to increase the planted area of cotton by 71 percent to 300,000 hectares (741,000 acres) by 2016, the Agriculture Ministry said today."

Brazil Tariff Barriers Complicate Trade Deal with Mexico

Via Bloomberg.com:

"Brazil’s existing tariff barriers complicate promised negotiations on a free-trade agreement with Mexico and there is no date to start formal talks, said Mexico’s undersecretary of industry and commerce, Lorenza Martinez. “What is the most difficult part is to solve the known tariff barriers that Brazil has,” Lorenza Martinez said in an interview at the Mexican embassy yesterday in Tokyo. “It is more difficult to do business in Brazil than in Mexico. It has a more complicated system to operate. That’s the part that makes this agreement a little bit more difficult than others.”

Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy and Mexico, the second biggest, relies on the U.S. to buy about 80 percent of its exports.

"Separately, Mexico hasn’t changed a forecast for the country to create 557,000 new private sector jobs this year as it recovers from the global downturn in 2009, she said. “The recovery has been faster than in previous cycles,” she said, adding that manufacturing firms have led the rebound."

FoxConn, Chinese Electronics Manufacturing Company & Owner of Scientific Atlantic, To Absorb 5,500 Employees in Ciudad Juarez

The electronics leader Foxconn will absorb the almost 5,500 employees working for Scientific Atlanta in Ciudad Juarez, who will keep their seniority and salaries. As Maquilaportal reports, Francisco Uranga Thomas, Foxconn Operations Vice-president for Latin America, said that they decided to acquire Scientific Atlanta due to the great value of its people, who have been working as a team for 17 years now.

Mexico Attracts Investment Interest of Japanese Businessmen

In the past 3 years, approximately 25 Japanese auto parts manufacturers have moved to Mexico, Raul Urteaga Triani, Head of Mexico-Japan Economic Association Bureau in the Ministry of the Economy, declared. Part of this migration of Japanese companies to Mexico is from the United States to Mexico. As Maquila portal reported Triani saying, “Japanese companies which were previously manufacturing at states such as Michigan, Ohio or Illinois started moving their production to Mexico to be near the automobiles assemblers operating in Mexico."