Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Trade Deals Boosts Illegal Immigration

In one of its last acts of 2007, Congress approved a Peru trade deal that would expand the failed NAFTA trade deregulation model further into Latin America. Perhaps paying closer attention to NAFTA’s track record would help Democrats and Republicans alike understand why we will never find viable solutions to the challenge of immigration reform without first addressing our bankrupt agriculture and trade policy. In 1994, NAFTA advocates—including then President Bill Clinton—promised that its passage would reduce immigration by creating more good paying jobs in Mexico. In 1996, the Republican Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the Freedom-to-Farm Bill, promising a new approach that would allow farmers to export their way to prosperity. While NAFTA deregulated the border with Mexico, the 1996 Farm Bill deregulated domestic agricultural markets. The combination was lethal. (KC Community News - click here to read complete article by R. Dennis Olson)


Peruvian re-gasification plant anticipated

Brazil's state-owned energy major Petrobras is considering new projects in Peru and Uruguay and following the anticipated discovery of a natural gas reserve in Peru, could be set to install a re-gasification plant in the country, according to the inklings of top company officials. Speaking to reporters, Nestor Cervero, chief of Petrobras' international operations, indicated the company might team up with Brazilian petrochemicals company Braskem to set up natural gas plant in southern Peru, Spain's EFE news agency reported recently. (Gas world - click here to read complete article by Rob Cockerill)


Peru GDP Expanded 8.1% in November From Year Ago (Update2)

Peru's economy expanded 8.1 percent in November from a year earlier, spurred by a rise in fishing, construction and export manufacturing, the national statistics institute reported. Growth was in line with the 8.3 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 10 economists. Fishing and manufacturing rose 14 percent, while construction rose 13 percent, the institute said today in Lima. Rising consumer demand is driving the growth of Peru's gross domestic product for a seventh year, creating jobs amid higher real wages even as inflation accelerates, said Rafael Sanchez, an analyst at Lima-based consultant firm Management & Investment Services. The strongest currency in almost 10 years is also bringing down prices of imported goods for Peruvians. (Bloomberg - click here to read complete article by Alex Emery)


Titulizadora Peruana Targets $1bn in RMBS

Titulizadora Peruana, the newly created securitization shop owned by the IFC, Interbank, BCP, Scotiabank, and Titularizadora Colombiana, expects to securitize at least $1bn in domestic mortgages in Peru in the next three to five years. “We want to eventually securitize 30% of the total stock of mortgages in Peru in the coming years," Marc Tristant, chief investment officer at the IFC in Lima, tells LatinFinance, adding today, the total pool of Peruvian mortgages stands at roughly $2.2bn. Like its Colombian counterpart, also started with the IFC’s help, Titulizadora Peruana is being established to foster a capital market for mortgages and other assets. It is fully licensed and is preparing to become operational in the next few months, with its first deal expected to price by the first half of 2008. Exact timing and issuance size is still being worked out, says Tristant. The IFC holds a 17% stake in Titulizadora Peruana and has approved a $50m credit line for the shop. Structured finance is still in its infancy in Peru. In December, BBVA Continental issued the first RMBS transaction in the Andean nation, a sale of $23.75m in sol-denominated 6.75% 8-year notes, rated BBB-. It also sold $1.25m in subordinated hybrid notes with an estimated 15% yield and variable maturity depending on the mortgage contracts. The notes are backed by mortgages written by BBVA itself. Titulizadora Peruana will look to securitize mortgages issued by any lender. (Latin Finance)


Peru climbs seven places to 55th among world’s freest economies

Peru climbed seven places ranking 55th in the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom of The Heritage Foundation, that lists the world’s freest economies. Peru’s economy is 63.5 percent free. Its overall score is one percentage point higher than last year, reflecting improved scores in five of the ten economic freedoms. Peru is ranked 13th out of 29 countries in the Americas, and its overall score is higher than the regional average. Peru scores above average in seven areas and is particularly strong in terms of government size. Personal income and corporate tax rates are moderate, and overall tax revenue is low as a percentage of Gross DOmestic Product (GDP). (ANDINA - click here to read complete article)