South-North, South-South
Three years of strong commodity prices has served to appreciate
many of the region’s currencies, especially those of South
America. This trend serves to highlight the issue of
competitiveness as non-commodity exporters grapple with rising
production costs when selling into a dollarized global market.
Competitiveness is more than just a trade issue. It also
influences the region’s ability to attract investment. After
dominating emerging market FDI flows in the 1990’s when Latin
America privatized the bulk of its state-owned assets, the region
now lags behind Asia and Eastern Europe as the destination of
choice.
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Considered unsafe countries compared to most Asian and Eastern
European investment destinations, crime in Latin America bears a
huge opportunity cost in un-captured investment, as well as
outbound human and capital flight. Indeed, competitiveness goes
beyond a purely economic issue touching on education and training,
security, legal transparency, logistics and other areas.
North-South, South-South
Three important trends have brought Latin America back into the
global spotlight as a trade & investment market of promise. Strong
Latin American currencies built by commodity driven export
surpluses have ignited a Latin American consumption boom,
particularly for capital goods and large ticket consumer products.
Of the world’s ten largest emerging markets, Latin America is home
to three: Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. As forecasters look to
emerging markets to lead future global economic growth, exporters
prefer to invest in China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and
Turkey, etc. rather than the traditional pan-regional approach
which forced many to choose Asia over Latin America, the Middle
East or Africa. Last but not least, the latest boom period in
Latin America has been associated with prudent fiscal and monetary
policy making, even in markets where political leadership has been
stridently populist, providing historic stability to the region.
Since 1993, InfoAmericas has been advising governments, donor
lenders, and the exporters they support on how to most effectively
plan for and execute exports to new markets and attract the best
kinds of foreign investment. InfoAmericas contribution to economic
development is focused on helping foment trade and investment best
practices built upon hundreds of consulting engagements across
multiple sectors, all of them concentrated in the Americas. The
multi-national consulting team that we have assembled in our own
three regional offices honed their skills working with both public
and private sector clients, which engenders a uniquely pragmatic
and seasoned approach to the challenges of our clients. Our advice
is built on experience, not concept. |
Best Practice Benchmark Analysis
