Living in Peru : your everyday companion

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister, Martín Pérez, estimates that Peruvian investements in Chile could double, amounting US $5 billion.

“I have no doubt about it,” said the Minister.

He revealed that the Chilean authorities who he met agreed to allow the increase of Peruvian investments in that country, in order to create more jobs.

“Peruvian companies have experienced a significant capitalization, and I have no doubts that a great international expansion is about to start: we are going to see much more Peruvian investment abroad during the next decade,” he said.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Wong group, which has companies operating in agro-industries, real estate, banking, investments and fishing, has reported a turnover of S/. 112.5 million soles (approx. US $37.5 dollars) during 2009, which means an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period last year.

The group also accumulated assets worth S/.920 millions and patrimony of S/.326 millions. However, it also reported losses amounting to S/.5 millions.

Ewong group's businesses are Paramonga, that has 14% of participation in local sugar market; in the real estate sector they run Plaza Norte, Nazaho, Tulcea, Inversiones Oregon and construction company Gelan.

Regarding finances, their main firm is Caja Rural Prymera, and also firms like Barroco, Riveroak Finance Corp., Karkeith Corporation, Argex Trading Finance Ltd. And Inversiones Dagomar.

EWong group also owns Inversiones Prisco, which hopes to close 2009 with a profit of US $12 million dollars.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Chilean firm Falabella will invest US $600 million dollars in Peru during the next three years, reiterated its General Manager Juan Benavides, who had mentioned that possibility months ago.

He said that Peruvian Market offers “great opportunities for economic expansion,” and that part of the aforementioned amount will cover projects inside and outside Lima, under the different stores and products they manage, that is, Saga, Tottus, Sodimac and Banco Falabella.

Benavides said that besides a shopping mall in Surquillo (Lima) and Arequipa's Aventura Plaza Mall, they have more projects for 2010, aiming to face the competition of other shopping centers that operate in Peru, but refused to go into further details.

Falabella currently works with 2,000 Peruvian suppliers, and is reportedly developing plans to make these micro and small firms supply Falabella's stores in Argentina and Colombia too.

Last year, Falabella's operations in Peru reached US$1.2 billion.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Restaurant business give employment to more than 320,000 Peruvians nationwide, which means an increase of 38% since 2007, according to a research done by Arellano Marketing Research and to data from the Gastronomy Peruvian Society.

The figure is bigger than that of 2007; the average salary is S/. 740 in provinces and S/. 800 new soles in Lima.

The report made by Arellano Marketing says that 188,000 Limenians would be working in this sector in 2009.

"This is a great step forward because there were 135,000 people working in this sector in 2007, when Peruvian gastronomy didn't draw too much attention," says the document.

Despite the importance and growth of this sector in recent years, this sector shows low levels of formality, which must be worked out in order to assure more quality of the products offered.

The document finally assures that the restaurant sector contribution is often associated with the hotel industry, and that up to 2007, the restaurant and hotel industry had a participation of 3.7% in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and this percentage may grow in the next years.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

With the aim to promote, to speed up and to improve the levels of articulation among the members of the different production chains, the regional government has organized the 7th "Puno Expo Fair" (2009), which is to be held between November 6th and 8th

It will try to open new commercial spaces among primary productors, transformers and tradesmen of strategic products for the development of Puno.

During the event, some festivals are set to be held, such as quinua and cañihua's, trucha's, coffee's, as well as the 6th Regional Touristic Fair, the 3rd Craftsmanship, and the exhibition and sale of products from the farming and livestock sector.

The fair will be held in coordination with several public and private institutions at San Carlos school. Interested investors may ask for information at the Regional Managment of Economic Development of the Regional Government at Deustua 356 Street, telefax (051) 353071, or write to: expopuno2009@yahoo.es 

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's Exporters Association (ADEX) informed that according to Customs, Peruvian exports are sent to 177 countries around the world, a fact that shows that companies are appealing to market diversification in order to face the effects of the international crisis.

"Diversification is a hard and delicate work. Exporters are very careful about it, now we have 15 more destinations compared to 2003," said ADEX's President, Jose Luis Silva.

Silva pointed out that between January and August this year, the destinations of the exportable Peruvian supply totaled 177 countries, six more than the year before for the same period.

Among the destinations conquered in recent years are Togo, Uganda, Georgia, Luxembourg, Sudan, Greenland, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, and Rwanda. One of the new markets for Peruvian products is Israel; sas of last August, Peruvian exportations grew by 38%.

Israel is a small country with seven million inhabitants and exports there are worth three million dollars, an amount superior to two and a half million dollars for the same period last year.

On top of the ranking of the exporting companies is Consorcio de Productores de Fruta with sales near to one million dollars and 28% of participation in the export market.

Second and third place are for Sun Packers with $384,000 and Perales Huancaruna with a total of $254,000 in sales, respectively.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Santa Sofia Ports announced that the estimated investment for the construction of the Ancon Port amounts US $320 million dollars, and will generate 1,000 temporal jobs.

In a workshop that took place in Ancon, Santa Sofia released some information related to the port design and the development of the environmental impact assessment, currently in charge of Ecoplaneacion Civil.

Reportedly, the port would not affect the bay's ecosystem.

Santa Sofia Puertos, part of the Romero Group, intends to invest $320 million in building this new port at Ancon, located 35 kilometers to the North of Lima, and the project is supposed to start in the second half of 2010.

The design considers an 620m area for loading and unloading containers, and another 260m for handling shipments of grains (wheat, corn, soja) and vegtable oils; the port will not work with minerals and won't support any industrial activity.

The workshop was attended by representatives from Transport and Communications Ministry, Ancon authorities and residents who wanted to know the scope of the project.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Reportedly, Doe Run Peru is currently having trouble reaching an agreement with its concentrate suppliers, because several of them have re-oriented to another clients the production that they used to supply to La Oroya smelter.

Jose Mogrovejo, Doe Run's vice-President of Environmental Affairs, said that some of Doe Run's former suppliers have already signed contracts for a year with international traders.

A vendor from one of those companies, who declined to be quoted, said that despite the fact that they are facing a 5% decrease in their income, they have preferred to do so to ensure their sales, because they are uncertain about when the smelter will operate again.

Doe Run's debt amounts to US $ 120 million to 26 vendors, five of which concentrate 80% of the total debt.

Reportedly, only one of these companies has presented Doe Run a funding scheme in order to put the company operational again, although this is still under study.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Chilean firm Tiendas Ripley (Ripley Stores) which currently operates in Chile, Peru and Mexico, approved an injection of 72.508 million pesos (more than US$ 134 million), as reported today by the Superintendency of Securities and Insurance (SVS).

The operation includes a capital increase of about $ 111 million, through the issuance of more than 27.159 million new shares, and the capitalization of about US $ 23 million profit of the company, as the Board of Shareholders agreed last Wednesday.

Andres Roccatagliata, General Manager, said that these resources will be used to finance the expansion of all company businesses.

Reportedly, this is a transaction between subsidiaries of Ripley Corp., the parent company, which "will not affect its assets, property or the amount of shares."

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

South Korea and Peru reached an agreement in some of the most polemic issues, including rules of origin, during the fourth round of talks for their Free Trade Agreement (FTA), according to South Korea's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The five-day-long talks, held in Lima, ended with an agreement on various issues, such as dispute settlement and government procurement, among others; but both countries failed to narrow differences on things like tariff concessions, fishery cooperation and norms for accessing the market.

Both countries aim to have the final document ready before Alan Garcia's visit to Korea, scheduled for next month.

This FTA is expected to boost bilateral economic ties, as well as provide South Korea with an expanded opportunity to invest in Latin America.

In 2008, bilateral trade topped US $1.62 billion.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.