Spain's BBVA to Invest $2 Billion in Mexico

Via Latin American Herald Tribune:

Spanish banking giant BBVA, the second largest bank conglomerate in Spain, and 7th in the world, will invest $2 billion in its Mexican unit, BBVA Bancomer, over the next three years, BBVA chairman and CEO Francisco Gonzalez said in June.

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This plan entails strong investment in technology and new platforms, and it is also an indication of BBVA Bancomer’s commitment to banking and the promotion of lending,” Gonzalez said in an address that was attended by Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

With the ever-growing Mexican economy, the BBVA investment funds will be used to expand branches, add ATMs and payment terminals, and promote mobile banking, Gonzalez said.

How do you think this will affect the Mexican banking sector and the Mexican economy as a whole?
I'd be interested to read your comments below.

News on Bancomer

From Bloomberg:

Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer SA, who may turn over cash to its Spanish parent bank has made investors start to sell-off the lender’s bonds, making them attractive to ING Groep NV and Aberdeen Asset Management Plc.

Yields on the Mexico City-based bank’s $1 billion of bonds due in 2020 have risen 31 basis points, or 0.31 percentage point, this year to 6.65 percent yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average borrowing costs for Latin American banks dropped 27 basis points during the same period to 5.58 percent, Credit Suisse Group AG indexes show.

Get the full story here.

Greek Cabinet Changes: Sarkozy & Merkel Urge Change

French and German leaders are starting to agree on how to rescue Greece from a European bailout.

The Greek cabinet has been changed by Greece Prime Minister George Papandreou, consequentially giving a boost to the euro and Wall Street.

This change in the Greek cabinet is a result of some of the EU’s stronger core countries push for a resolution to Greece’s fiscal debt crisis.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Prime Minister Angela Merkel showed a united front on the need for a deal in the next few weeks, but offered few details of when and how such a deal will get done – or who will pay for it.

Former Greek defense minister Evangelos Venizelos will take over as finance minister from Giorgos Papakonstantinou, the author of the wildly unpopular, albeit necessary, austerity programs, who is begin reassigned to an environmental post.

Source: Forbes

Siliken Introduces New Model in Tijuana, Mexico

From Puerto Vallarta Magazine:

Alfredo Puche, CTO and VP of Siliken, the Spanish solar energy company, announced at an inauguration event at the Intersolar Exhibition in Tijuana that Siliken has started manufacturing solar modules in Tijuana, after an investment of US$25 million and with an initial labor force of 180 people from Tijuana.

Alfredo Puche reported that Siliken-Tijuana Mexico started operations in the first quarter of 2011 with an ambitious operations plan to manufacture solar panels for the US market, with plans to grow within 2 years to 500 people, a sign of the confidence in Tijuana's capabilities.

“We are inaugurating our fifth plant in the world and second in Latin America. Siliken Tijuana has three production lines. Last February works started to create an industry around renewable energy with solar silicon purification for power development”, Alfredo Puche further said.
The sales team of Siliken showed its clients the newest products, such as the online configurator energyBox and its Premium Partner Program.

Siliken chose the Intersolar Exhibition to present the new 72-cell module to its clients for the first time. With these modules, 20 percent fewer modules need to be installed, generating the same power and saving operating costs.

Original Source: Maquila Portal

Gas Prices Outrageous- 5 Ways to Stop Speculators from Raising Oil Prices

The rise in gas prices is having a huge impact on American consumers...In this video, leading economists talk about the current economy and what steps are necessary to ensure more moderate gas prices. How has the push in oil prices affected you? Has it affected your business or the way you invest? I'd love to hear your comments.

Profile: Agustin Carstens/Christine Lagarde

Lately I've been posting news on the race between Carstens and Lagarde to be the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As the BBC puts it, the two candidates competing to be the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), "could not be more different in their appearance" but...what about on paper?

Sometimes I've thought, how do we really know who would be a better pick for the position? Well, I found these BBC articles that review both of the candidates' careers and give us a good look at their credentials. Check out the aspiring candidates' resumes here: Agustin Carstens and Christine Lagarde

Mexico’s Carstens courting U.S. on IMF job

From The Washington Post:

The Mexican banker running to head the International Monetary Fund warned Monday that the agency could face a conflict of interest if his chief rival, a European, was appointed to the top job in the midst of the financial crisis roiling Europe.

Agustin Carstens, Mexican central bank chief, in Washington yesterday to lobby for the IMF post, said the International Monetary Fund needs to be seen as guarding the interests of all its members, not just those of the Europeans.

The fund can’t be perceived as working for Europeans,” he said. “I am sure she [Lagarde] will say she is working for the fund. But that question will be there.”

Read more on the fight for the IMF position.

Scorpex Signs to Merge with Scorpex International

Scorpex International, Inc., formerly known as Scorpion International Waste Solutions, Inc., is a development stage company in the hazardous and toxic waste industry. With its first facility located near Ensenada, Mexico, Scorpex International is developing its first property for the storage, recycling, treatment, and disposal of hazardous waste. It is awaiting permits from the local and national government, and has already developed significant infrastructure on the 26-acre property.

"Merging Scorpex International with the Company marks a historic event in the development of Scorpex. I am pleased with the progress that Scorpex International is making in this region of Mexico and the waste disposal industry. We view this merger as a great opportunity to expand our shareholder base and create value for our shareholders. Furthermore, Scorpex has the opportunity to make a real positive difference with the environment," said Joseph Caywood, Chief Executive Officer.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/12/prweb8564727.DTL#ixzz1PBG2TcHq

Royal Dutch Shell to Invest in Gulf of Mexico

From Stocks and Shares TV:

"Royal Dutch Shell has a multi-billion dollar investment plan, and it is the latest step in Royal Dutch Shell plc (LON:RDSA)’s deep-water energy production activities in the Golf of Mexico.

The Cardamom project is expected to produce 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe, or barrell of oil equivalent) a day at peak production and more than 140 million boe over its lifetime."

Read more about the investment in the original article.

Calls for Investment at the U.S.-Mexico Border

The new coordinated border plan proposed today by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce touched on five areas: Trade, Infrastructure, Travel, Immigration and Security.

The public and private investment in such a program is needed to create a 21st century U.S.-Mexico border that will allow both countries to be secure and to compete in the global economy, the report said. Read more about the need to invest the U.S.-Mexican border here.

In Four Years, Mexico Has Received $90 Billion USD in FDI

The State News Service reported in early 2011 that during the 29th Plenary Meeting of the Mexico-Japan Business Committee, President Felipe Calderon, accompanied by Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and Francisco Javier Mayorga Castaneda, Secretary of Agriculture, said: "During my four years as president, our country has received nearly 90 billion dollars in foreign direct investment. And this has happened precisely because Mexico has or represents a great opportunity of success for firms investing in our country. Indeed, this growth of investment has also enabled us to grow and create jobs."

President Calderon also stated that, "The Mexican economy offers wonderful conditions for investment," explaining that, "This is due to Mexico's enormous advantages, such as, for example, its strategic geographical position, particularly in a global economy such as the one we have today."

The point is, he said, "That we are working to make government an effective ally of investors."

President Calderon: 'Invest in Mexico'

President Felipe Calderon received executive officers from Avaya Inc., a New Jersey-based company specializing in business communication services, applications and systems, to discuss some of the actions carried out by his Administration to attract productive investment.

In the meeting, President Calderon stressed the responsible management of public finances and an unprecedented amount of investment in infrastructure -- almost 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Read more about why President Calderon says companies should invest in mexico.

Mexico Full of Opportunity for Real Estate Investors

Mexico is improving across the board, but the numbers show it's GDP growth is it's forte at the moment. Here are a few points from the article from the National Real Estate Investor:

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecasts Mexico’s GDP growth rate to expand at an average annual rate of 3.7% from 2011 through 2015, higher than the 3.1% average achieved during the period 2003 through 2008, and 230 basis points higher than the average over the past 20 years. This higher growth rate reflects the stronger long-term prospects in Mexico.

The EIU also forecasts Mexico will experience a GDP growth rate of 4% and an inflation rate of 3.5% in 2011, and a similar trend of strong growth with moderate inflation through 2015.

This combination is attractive to investors, especially when compared with other Latin America countries, such as Brazil, that are contending with higher inflation rates and currency values.

Read the entire artcile for an in-depth look at real estate investing in Mexico.

Canada sees opportunity in Mexico

According to the The Maquila Portal, Canadian businessmen are keeping a high interest in investing in Mexico. Canada’s Ambassador to Mexico, Guillermo Rishchynski pointed-out that in the last decade Canadian investment in Mexico was over US$10 billion.