Newswire: South-South / Emerging Market Cooperation

[China - ASEAN] - China to Boost Cooperation With Asean on Investments - Bloomberg

China wants to boost cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to develop trade and increase investment, said Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming.


[ASEAN] - Five Asean Nations May Form Rice-Trade Body, Thai Official Says - Bloomberg

Five Southeast Asian nations may set up a rice-trade association next year to cooperate in stabilizing rice prices, a Thai official said.

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will also cooperate on other issues related to food security and production, said Chiya Yimvilai, a spokesman at a meeting of Asean economic ministers in Bangkok. The countries would also work together on developing rice products, he said.


[Venezuela - Russia] - PDVSA, Russian Group to Start $30 Billion Oil Venture - Bloomberg

Petroleos de Venezuela SA and a group of Russian oil companies plan to spend $30 billion on a joint venture in Venezuela’s Orinoco region.

The 40-year venture will seek to produce crude in the Junin 6 area and may expand to other Orinoco blocks, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told reporters in St. Petersburg today after meeting with Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez. Russian investors will include OAO Gazprom, OAO Rosneft, OAO Lukoil, TNK-BP and OAO Surgutneftegaz. The venture will be signed “in the coming months,” Sechin said.


[Mexico - Uruguay] - Mexico/Uruguay sign strategic association accord and advance trade - MecroPress

Mexico president Felipe Calderón and Uruguay’s Tabare Vazquez signed on Friday in Montevideo a Strategic Association accord to strengthen political dialogue and bilateral trade relations in the framework of the 2004 free trade agreement.


[Mexico - Colombia - Venezuela - Ecuador] - Mexico offers to mediate between Colombia and Venezuela and Ecuador - MecroPress
Mexican president Felipe Calderón on an official visit to Colombia offered his country’s mediation in the conflict between Bogotá and neighbouring Ecuador and Venezuela.


[Peru - Brazil] - Brazilian President to visit Peru to strengthen strategic alliance - Andina
The next arrival to Lima of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will contribute to create a new strategic alliance to face Asian markets when signing several trade agreements, the President of Peru-Brazil Integration Chamber Miguel Vega Alvear.

“The arrival of Brazilian President will strengthen the progress achieved up to now in this Peru-Brazil strategic alliance and it will create a new stage in which both countries can face Asia-Pacific markets,”

How much of this map will be red when The Economist does a story on this in 20 years?

Oil and land rights in Peru -- Blood in the jungle

FOR seven weeks tens of thousands of Amazonian Indians blocked roads and rivers across eastern Peru. They seized hydroelectric plants and pumping stations on oil and gas pipelines to try to force the repeal of decrees facilitating oil exploration...

Corporacion Andina de Fomento Sells $1 Billion of 10-Year Notes

Corporacion Andina de Fomento sold $1 billion of 10-year notes, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

CAF sold the bonds to yield 4.5 percentage points above U.S. Treasuries, said the person, who declined to be identified.

[Source] -- Bloomberg

Laying the foundation for a tri-nation Boliviaran mining giant in South America

[South-South Cooperation] -- Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia

The Ecuadorian government announced plans yesterday of the establishment of a joint mining company with the country of Venezuela and possibly Bolivia. You can read all the vague details in this article from Chinamining.

"We are going to build a great mining company in association with Venezuela and perhaps with Bolivia to exploit some veins of mine ore returned to the State from private hands,"said Ecuadorian Minister of Mines and Petroleum Derlis Palacios.

Ecuador Pays 35 Cents for Defaulted Bonds in Buyback

Ecuador paid 35 cents on the dollar to holders of as much as $3.2 billion of defaulted bonds and gave creditors a second chance to sell back their securities.

The payout is 5 cents more than the minimum price set by the government and the 30-cent payout offered by Argentina in its 2005 debt restructuring. Ecuador didn’t say how many investors participated in the buyback.

The government, seeking to pressure bondholders into participating, said it won’t improve the offer to those creditors who hold out of the buyback auctions. President Rafael Correa halted payments in December on $510 million of 2012 bonds and in March on $2.7 billion of 2030 bonds, saying the securities were “illegitimate” and “illegal.” A drop in oil exports has sparked a tumble in Ecuador’s reserves.

The repurchase prices “reflect the resources of the republic and are responsive to the majority of the offers received,” Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri said in a statement. “The republic will not offer equal or more favourable terms to those being offered to holders of bonds presently.”

Ecuador’s stance is similar to that of Argentina after its 2005 debt settlement. Creditors holding $20 billion of the bonds Argentina defaulted on in 2001 rejected the government’s offer of about 30 cents on the dollar. Then-President Nestor Kirchner pushed legislation through congress that blocks the government from making a second offer to creditors.

Click here to access the full article from Bloomberg

Argentina's debt; finding a middle ground

[Argentina Analysis] -- Perspective from a recent college graduate with a econ degree

Argentina's beloved Maradona

When I entered American University in 2004, one of the most popular topics of conversation among the students studying International Relations or Economics, was the Argentine economic crisis of 1999-2002.

As a young Peruvian-American, studying economics, I frequently found myself debating the event with people from all over the world, including Latinos. It seemed that students, teachers and the authors of our textbooks had all gotten together and decided to use Argentina as a prime example of how

a) The Washington Consensus had failed

b) The IMF and other regional lenders had doomed Argentina by lending money with unfair "strings attached"

Let me make one thing clear... American University is a VERY liberal school.

I quickly came to feel a consensus had been reached within the classrooms of American University (AU). Argentina emerged as the symbolic victim of IMF abuses and the misguided Washington Consensus of the 90's.

Pegging the peso to the U.S Dollar, initially a wise decision to help stem inflation, was doomed to fail from the start because there would be no way Argentina's industrial and labor sectors would be able to adjust to a appreciating dollar.

Economists and foreign policy buffs at AU did not argue the value of having a lending system, the global economy after all needs one. However, it became very easy "for the average Joe" to accept Argentina's default during this era of backlash against the Washington Consensus and also of course in the midst of a liberal University environment.

I will be posting this article on the American University Alumni LinkedIn and Facebook group, hoping to get some feedback from students currently attending. Which I will then share on ChinaSouthAmerica.com

If you have not yet heard or read, there are a few "liberal democrats" in the House of Representatives trying to get Argentina to pay up. I have included a few paragraphs from this MercoPress article which outlines their efforts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bill, H.R. 2493, called the Judgment Evading Foreign States Accountability Act of 2009, would bar from US capital markets any nation that has been in default of US court judgments totaling more than 100 million US dollars for more than two years. The legislation would also require the US government to consider the default status of these countries before granting them aid.

"Argentina is ignoring billions of dollars in US court judgments, which has hurt not just US citizens, but also Argentine citizens," said ATFA Executive Director Robert Raben. "US taxpayers are still waiting to be repaid money they lent to Argentina in good faith."

The effort is being led by Representative Eric Massa, a Democrat from New York State who was raised in Argentina while his father served as US Naval Attaché in Buenos Aires. Also introducing the legislation were Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Dan Maffei (D-NY), Mike McMahon (D-NY), Ed Towns (D-NY), and Brian Higgins (D-NY).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Generally speaking, Latin America was happy with the election of Barack Obama. Many experts believe, and I happen to agree, a new era in U.S-Latin American relations has been initiated. After eight long years of being ignored by President Bush who would argue?

In Argentina, Obama's election was welcomed by Cristina Fernandez. However, as this MercoPress article explains, Argentina's President is finding herself increasingly isolated. The most frequent visitor to Argentina has become Hugo Chavez. Fernandez has not been invited to the White House like her Brazilian and Chilean counterparts. Obama also neglected to make a pit-stop in Argentina, as he did in Mexico, on the way to the Summit of the Americas. For the third largest country in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico, this should be insulting, and... indicative of the way the international community and the United States currently view Argentina.

"Che! We got no money!"

Additionally, within the region, Argentina has ongoing political disputes with: neighboring Chile over energy exports, with Uruguay over a bridge that links the two countries, various trade disputes with Brazil within the Mercosur community, and has banned the crossing of Bolivian and Paraguayan soybeans through Argentine territory--which much infuriate two land lock countries trying to export their produce.

Joaquin Morales Solá, a leading political analyst, writing a column in La Nacion recalls, "that there have been no major foreign visitors to Argentina for over two years, precisely since then President Nestor Kirchner left the Queen of Holland waiting at an official ceremony; he never turned up and never apologized. The only and sporadic “business” visits have been from Chavez, Lula da Silva and Bolivia’s Evo Morales."

Furthermore Obama is not Bush, he’s one of the most popular world leaders and Chavez short of oil revenue can’t attack the US president. Nevertheless says Morales Solá, the only leader visiting Argentina is heading for the perfect dictatorship: a ban on the import of books and only official Chavez, Bolivar and Marx texts at school. The leader of the Venezuelan opposition and elected mayor of the country’s second largest city was forced to take refuge in Peru; the nationalization of industries, confiscation of companies and land advances since “private property” can’t be an impediment for the revolution. Chavez is determined to end with the independent media and has virtually broken relations with Israel and the local Venezuelan Jewish community.

So with all this drama... let me now ask. "Should Argentina be forced to pay back its debt to foreign creditors?

When I was a first year university student I would have answered NO. Five years later, my answer has changed, albeit slightly.

Yes, the polcies put in place by the IMF in Argentina in the late 90's were extremly unfair. I am not debating this. However, I do not think it is wise for Argentina to continue refusing to pay their debt. Ecuador recently followed in Argentina's footsteps, defaulting on their own foreign debt as bonds came due. Both countries have offered their debt holders reduced payback (ie: $.50 to the $1.00), but as of now no deal has yet to be reached with Argentina and their creditors.

According to this MercoPress article, a team of Argentine economists concluded in 2006 that Argentina's default status causes the nation to lose more than 6 billion US dollars in foreign direct investment every year, reports MercoPress in this article.

Furthermore, by the estimates of the President of the American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), Robert Raben "President Kirchner has said several times she's prepared to negotiate with bondholders, but we've seen no action whatsoever," Raben said. "Argentina has 45 billion in reserves and can afford to pay its 3.5 billion in debts to US bondholders many times over. It's time to resolve this issue for the benefit of both nations."

Of course this doesn't mean they can afford to use their $45 billion to pay off international investors... they need it for many other things like making sure the Argentine Peso doesn't slip off the fact of the earth. Nonetheless it does not help when you consider the creditors are aware of this, and that Argentina's leadership has been incredibly unwilling to compromise.

I know one thing, Latin America will continue to need to borrow money. The Bank of the South and other regional lending institutions can not replace the United States or the IMF any time soon.

Argentina can cry about how unfair the loans they must repay are, but reaching some type of deal would at least allow Argentina to gain access to international capital markets once again. For a country with so much potential, the current government really knows how to hold a grudge.

Bank of the South - South American leaders reach a definitive agreement

A definitive agreement for the launching of the Bank of the South was reached in Buenoes Aires on Friday afternoon. Everything seems set to go with one minor change to note, The Bank of the South will begin operations with $7 billion in working capital, not the $10 billion reported previously.

South-South Cooperation is a term historically associated with the exchange of resources, technology and knowledge between developing countries. This latest initiative by the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela is especially exciting for the region as it:

a) Involves seven South American countries
b) Includes countries with very different political and economic ideologies
c) Includes the regional powerhouse of Brazil
d) Is not dominated by one power, but rather uses a fair system to calculate member country donations
e) Sends a message to member countries that what is good for the region is good me

What is mysterious, and surely politically motivated, is the fact the most staunch US allies in the region; Colombia, Peru and Chile, have not been included...

Here's the scoop from what went down over in Buenos Aires on Friday, courtesy of MercoPress.


“We’ve closed all pending issues and therefore this is the last ministerial meeting on the subject, said Argentine Finance minister Carlos Fernández who nevertheless added that the final stitch is “the technical review of statutes” of the new bank and the “parliamentary approval by the seven founding countries”.

[Arg Finance Minister, Carlos Fenandez]


The Bank of the South, started at the end of 2007 (and the brainchild of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez), will have an initial capital of 7 billion US dollars (originally it was planned 10 billion), of which Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela will supply 2 billion US dollars each; Ecuador and Uruguay 400 million US dollars each and Bolivia 200 million.

“The terms of the agreement are acceptable, so the statutes should be easily approved without much discussion”, said Brazil’s Finance minister Guido Mantega. “This is the missing step for financial integration”, he added.

“Given the current international context the bank should be operational as soon as possible” added Argentina’s Fernandez. “It’s not easy to create a financial institution of this kind in the midst of an international crisis”.

According to the statutes each country member will have “one vote” in the board but for approval of loans 70 million US dollars plus, support from votes representing two thirds of capital subscription will be needed, explained Fernandez.

At the same meeting Argentina and Brazil also agreed to a 1.5 billion US dollars swap to reinforce their international reserves. The operation is similar to that recently agreed between Argentina and China and the one signed by the Federal Reserve and fifteen other countries, including Brazil.

The swap is “preventive” and enables each country access to a credit in Brazilian Reales or Argentine Pesos equivalent to 1.5 billion US dollars and valid for three years.

Brazilian minister Mantega said that when Brazil signed the agreement with the FED he advanced that the scheme would be expanded to the region, with Argentina and Uruguay as first interested parties.

“It’s a precaution mechanism to reinforce international reserves. Let’s hope this becomes available as soon as possible and operational for the two central banks”, said Fernandez.

The Bank of the South -- A step towards regional integration in South America

[South America Analysis] -- The significance of creating a new regional bank in South America.

** Note the opinions reflected in this article are my own and do not reflect any resource used in writing this analysis.



As high level Economy and Finance ministers from seven South American countries meet in Argentina with the goal of moving forward the creation of the Bank of the South (El Banco Sur), it is imperative to examine the bigger picture. I have synthesized two major points I would like to highlight.

1) South American countries are experimenting with new institutions. If found to be viable and efficient, these institutions can potentially form the building blocks of larger and more complex ones. The end result will be the promotion of legitimate regional integration in South America.

2) The Bank of the South, along with other efforts such as the Andean Development Corporation will provide South American countries first-hand experience in promoting economic development through South-South Cooperation. Development via this avenue takes advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of other developing countries to promote development from within. South-South Cooperation has great potential to create a new channel in which to promote sustainable economic growth and empower developing countries with the tools and means in which to help each other develop, thus cutting their reliance on external aid from wealthy donor countries or multi-lateral organizations such as the IMF (eventually).

The Bank of the South, which has been financed by the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, will begin operations with an initial capital pool of $10 billion. This figure was agreed upon during the last meeting held in March in Caracas, Venezuela (MercoPress).

When you casually see hundreds of billions of dollars being thrown around in today’s headlines, it is easy to dismiss this $10 billion effort as menial, at best…

The real point however is not to rock the boat, the boat in this context being the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral lending institutions. Hugo Chavez may be full of rhetoric that says otherwise, but as much as he would like the Bank of the South to counter the influence of the IMF, he knows at the moment it cannot.

Consider two major lending institutions—the IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Ideas are being floated around to increase IMF capital to $500 billion (see this BBC article). Granted not all this will go to Latin America, but no less this is a substantially larger capital pool than the Bank of the South will have. The IDB, which is a Latin America specific regional lender, has $101 billion of its own of capital.

However, if we look at one other regional lender—the Andean Development Corporation, which includes some of the remaining South American countries which are not participating in the Bank of the South (Peru, Chile and Colombia), has a capital pool of $5 billion. The Bank of the South, with seven founding members and $10 billion in capital to lend is a definite step forward for the region

Consider for a moment, the fact South American countries have not always been as successful as they are now at managing inflation, debt, budgets, political stability, etc. Today in 2009, South American countries have international reserves. Click here to access a great article with some straight forward data that illustrates this phenomenon from Victoria Saddi’s site, Brazil and Economics. In a few years the United States may have to add to their Chinese and Middle Eastern credit lines by opening up new ones with countries in Latin America.

Definitely not a good thing for U.S self-esteem, but that is another story all together. Discussion welcome for those who would like to share their opinions on the subject.

The Bank of the South will not tip the international balance of power in either the worlds of regional and or international lending institutions. It will however help create the foundation for future organizations and institutions which one day will rival the influence of first world institutions like the IMF.


~ Analysis by Bennett Reiss

Moving forward, Creating a Bank of the South

South-South Cooperation: The Bank of the South


Back in March I did a small piece on the creation of the Bank of the South, a.k.a, El Banco Sur (click here to see post). Currently working on my own analysis to this development and my general view on this South American effort to create a regional bank.

For now, here are a few excerpts from today's MercoPress article.

Economy and Finance ministers from seven South American countries are scheduled to meet Friday in Buenos Aires to advance in the creation of the Bank of the South, a financial institution to fund infrastructure and development projects in the region.

“At the meeting participants will advance in the founding multilateral agreements for the establishment of the Bank of the South“, said the Argentine Central Bank in a short release.

Participating ministers are from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Ecuador #1 in Economic Growth in Latin America - The Latin American Herald

Ecuador President Rafael Correa said that his country’s economic growth in 2008, which according to the latest estimates was 6.5%, was among Latin America’s highest despite the international financial crisis -- and despite defaulting on a portion of the nation's international debt.

“The latest estimates from the Banco Central say that total growth in 2008 was 6.5 percent – that’s the highest in a long time,” Correa said on his customary Saturday radio and television program.

He also said that if the oil sector were removed from the calculations, the Ecuadorian economy last year grew 7.95 percent, which would represent the highest surge since the 1970s when Ecuador enjoyed an “oil boom.”

Click here to access this article in its entirety

Banco del Sur

In 2007 the countries of Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Paraguay formed Banco del Sur (Bank of the South). The bank if finally opening its doors, and, not surprisingly has made few headlines up in North America.

Banco del Sur will launch operations with a initial $10 billion in capital for loans and other programs, reported Venezuela's state news agency ABN.


Contributions break down as follows. Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil will each contribute $2 billion. Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Paraguay will pool together the other $4 billion.

Venezuela's finance minister Alí Rodríguez told media yesterday, he believes the Presidents of Banco del Sur's member countries know it is necessary to advance regional integration of energy, infrastructure and finance.

Sounds all fine and dandy, but easier said than done. It would be some great ideal if Latin America's commodity producers could come together and form some kind of financial system to trade their goods (one random thought).

It would also be nice if inter-regional trade could be made easier.

Yes... you can drive from Asuncion, Paraguay to La Paz, Bolivia but it will be ONE HECK OF A JOURNEY. Remember to pack extra shocks for your car too.

Good idea to keep watch on this bank and see how things progress in the coming months.

Brazil's Embraer sells 24 combat planes to Ecuador

In another instance of South-South Cooperation, Brazil and Ecuador have just concluded a deal which makes Ecuador the proud owner of 24 Super Tucano combat planes.

The total cost of these 24 planes is unknown (Embaer did not comment), but we do know that Colombia paid $234.5 million usd for 25. The price is probably somewhere in that range, give or take a few million $'s thanks to fluctuating input costs and the typical Latin American favoritism.

Super Tucano combat planes fying in formation

The Super Tucano according to this article from the Latin American Herald is a turbo-prop, multi-purpose aircraft which is capable of carrying variety of conventional and smart weapons.

Ecuador has ordered the two-seat version of the plane in order to be able to also use it as a training air craft. Officials had the following to say.

“We’re very honored to expand our relationship with the government of Ecuador, a country that operates different models of Embraer aircraft,” the firm’s executive vice president for defense products, Orlando Jose Ferreira Neto, said in a statement announcing the deal.

“The Super Tucano is the ideal aircraft to execute patrol and training missions, and we are sure that it will fully meet the needs of the Ecuadorian air force,” he added.

Financially, Embaer like much of the rest of the Airline Industry (see this article from the Straits Times) has felt the pinch of the global down turn especially hard. Everything from orders of military craft to private jets are down. Overall depressing and continued negative market sentiment doesn't exactly help too much either.

The stock is down a lot, but as one of Brazil's prize jewels of innovation, success and EMPLOYMENT... Embaer is not going anywhere. The company has $1.2 billion usd in debt, BUT thankfully it also has $1.62 billion usd in cash sitting on the side lines.

This will both allow Embraer to make good on its debt obligations, keep its working paid to prevent civil unrest at production sites in Brazil and ultimately this emerging market company will emerge a little bit higher on the food chain of the new global economy.

Embraer (ERJ) - 2 year

Ecuador Defense Minister in Russia Seeking Military Cooperation Pact -- Latin American Herald

QUITO – Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce traveled to Russia on Saturday to continue negotiations on a technical-military cooperation pact, a ministry official in Quito said...

Click here to read more on this development from the Latin American Herald

Enap, Chile's state oil company declares $958 mil net loss in 2008

Chile's state oil company, Enap, the second largest company in the country after copper giant Codelco (according to this FT article) declared a $958 million net loss in 2008 yesterday.

Enap produces 230,000 barrels of oil per day and 13m cubic meters of fuel a year. The company also has interests in Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt and Iran and . It supplies about 85 per cent of Chile’s fuel needs and exports to Central and South America.

Sadly, Enap is what will go down in history as a classic victim from the volatile markets of the world economy during the global economic crisis of 2008-2009.

Record high commodity prices reached in 2007-2008 forced Enap to purchase a great deal of the crude it refined for use in the domestic economy for around $140 a barrel. When oil prices dropped to $34 a barrel in December, the company was forced sell its refined crude products for the lower market price. In all, this macro swing in the global economy cost the company around $650 million.

Two other factors also contributed to the loss. Drought in northern Chile forced Enap to shut down some hydroelectric plants. Second internal problems in Argentina lead the government to implement subsidies on petrol products, igniting demand in Argentina. When push came to shove and Argentina realized there wasn't enough gas to go around, the country diverted some of its supplies meant for Chile to the domestic economy. Thus forcing Chile in both instances to import energy from new and more expensive sources.

All in all a bad year for Enap in the global economy.

According to this FT article, Enap has pinned its hopes on hydrocarbons exploration in the Magallanes region in the far south of Chile, but the state auditor has raised questions about the viability of the project, and Enap has yet to announce whether it will go ahead.

China-South America -- China pursues Latin America ties -- BBC Article

Two top Chinese officials have started visits to Latin America as part of an intensified effort to strengthen ties with the region.

Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu is to visit Argentina, Ecuador, Barbados and the Bahamas.

Vice-President Xi Jinping is visiting Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela and China's two biggest trading partners in the region, Brazil and Mexico.

Click here to access the full article from BBC

Chavez bonds not doing so well before yet another upcoming vote on extending term limits

Venezuela has a huge debt about $46 billion according to Standard & Poor's. Venezuela also has about $29 billion in foreign reserves that it can use for paying the debt. So what's the problem and why has Bloomberg compiled this huge article quoting people from both sides?

It is clear Chavez wants to stay in power, and he's pushing yet another vote to see if the population will approve. Well, because the reality of the matter lies somewhere in between the pessimists who think Chavez is the Anti-Christ and will never pay back the country's debt and is slowly turning the nation into a communist, rouge state and the Chavistas who praise him and listen to every word he says like it's fact.


Foreign investors need to realize there is always an inherent risk when you buy up bonds that where yielding more than US treasuries from a Latin American country. Like... honestly, if there's anything the Madoff scandal should teach us is to not be blinded by greed.

"The average yield on the government’s dollar bonds rose to 17.40 percentage points more than Treasuries, from 14.74 points when he took office a decade ago, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co."

Furthermore, as you saw with Ecuador which recently said it will have to re-examine some of its own foreign denominated bonds, it is conveniently not doing so with bonds held by the Venezuelan government. All those foreign bond holders out there should check to see if there are any buddy's of Chavez who own the ones you do. If they do, I think you'll be safe, hehe.

Click here to read a more factual and comprehensive story about this from Bloomberg

South-South Cooperation: Andean Community (Comunidad Andina - CAN) to be modernized

Mincetur, Peru's Ministry of Commerce and Tourism announced that the country's of the Andean Community (Comunidad Andina - CAN) have plans to work together to redefine the community in order to promote a more modern and efficient environment for investment and trade.

The news comes on the heels of the upcoming meeting CAN is having with the European Union in regards to a FTA the two economic unions have in the works.

Bolivia which is also a member of CAN had previously been against the FTA agreement with the EU, but stated that it is open to negotiations and willing to compromise if certain changes are made.

If you would like to read more on this story and can read Spanish,
check out ---> this article published on Andina.com

South-South Cooperation in focus: Peruvian PM to meet with Correa in Ecuador

The PM of Peru, Yehude Simon travels to Ecuador today to hold a meeting with Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa (the one who recently caused all those headlines with the bonds) to discuss bilateral trade topics.

According to the information reported over at Andina, Simon is heading to Ecuador discuss and resolve any problems related to the Resolution No 466 adopted by the Foreign Trade and Investments Council (COMEXI) of Ecuador.

"Resolution No 466 authorizes the application of a protection measure for balance of payments, general and not discriminatory, to imports of all countries including those that have trade agreements in force with Ecuador which recognize tariff preferences, as it is the case of Peru."

Click here to access Andina's article on this topic

News reel: Economic Meltdown p1 – South America

Click on article titles to access the full copy from parent websites


Peru in Talks to Borrow From U.S. Fed, China, Valdivieso Says – Bloomberg - Jan 15, 2009

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Peru is in talks with the U.S. Federal Reserve and China’s central bank to swap its currency for dollars as the government seeks to boost liquidity amid the global credit crunch, Finance Minister Luis Valdivieso said.

The country may tap another $9 billion in loans from multilateral lenders to help finance about $35 billion in mining, energy and other development projects, Valdivieso said in an interview with Bloomberg television last night at the Finance Ministry in Lima.


Brazil Company Debt Payment Aid Points to Larger Need in Region - Bloomberg - Jan 15, 2009

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s plan to provide more than $20 billion to help companies roll over maturing international debt may point to even bigger financing constraints in the rest of Latin America, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Brazil’s central bank President Henrique Meirelles unveiled plans yesterday to tap reserves for helping 4,000 or more companies meet international debt payments this year. Brazilian companies have $61.6 billion of foreign debt coming due this year, including $44.9 billion of obligations that mature in less than a year, Schineller said, citing central bank data.


Brazil’s Exports May Plunge 20 Percent in 2009, Barral Says – Bloomberg - Jan 15, 2009

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) – Brazil’s exports may plunge 20 percent this year on slumping demand and falling prices as world economic growth slows, Foreign Trade Secretary Welber Barral said.


Argentina’s Buzzi Says Government’s Plan Isn’t Enough (Update1) – Bloomberg - Jan 15, 2009

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Argentine farm leader Eduardo Buzzi, president of the country’s Agrarian Federation, said measures announced by the government yesterday aren’t enough to help farmers facing drought and falling commodity prices.


Ecuador Bank Drafting Bill for Second Currency, Hoy Reports – Bloomberg - Jan 15, 2009

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuador’s central bank is preparing legislation that would allow it to issue a currency to be used alongside the dollar, Quito-based newspaper Hoy reported, citing a draft of the bill it had obtained


Bolivia breaks relations with Israel over Gaza invasion – MercoPress- Jan 15, 2009

President Evo Morales announced Wednesday that Bolivia severed diplomatic ties with Israel as an act of solidarity with Palestinians suffering from the current offensive in the Gaza strip.

South-South Cooperation -- Ecuador seeks $280 million credit line from Iran

Ecuador is reaching out to its new buddy, Iran for a credit line of $280 million usd to finance pipeline and other oil-sector related projects according to what Mining and Oil Minister Derlis Palacios told the Dow Jones Newswires yesterday (click here for the article, provided via Rigzone).

Senor Palacios seems confident Ecuador will get the money too. Stating in a telephone interview "We are asking for a credit line of $280 million, especially to invest in our pipelines. We are sure that this money will come."

This is all very intriguing. I must admit Correa has done some good for Ecuador and my opinions on him have personally evolved over the years, and in a positive way. However, messing around with Iran on the heels of months of intense fighting with foreign companies and THEN causing hysteria with the country's bonds will definitely reverberate for years to come in the international community.

Yes, it is true Ecuador probably would probably have a hard time securing a loan from any normal western financial institution and that it has all the right in the world to look elsewhere. I just question the path Correa and the political big whigs in Ecuador think is best for the future of Ecuador.

If the political situation changes and new leadership seeks to pursue a different path, one less antagonistic of the international community perhaps, it will be a hard process of re-affirming confidence after all of it.

However, if the world was fair I think Ecuador should be able to go ask Iran for a loan if it wants. They are in the end both developing countries that could probably benefit from cooperating with one another. Sadly we don't live in a fair world, and considering the degree to which Ecuador is connected to the international financial system, I think it should have thought a bit more carefully about its foreign policy in the last year or so.