​
​Interview with the Ambassador of the Republic of Chile to New Zealand; 
​
​His Excellency Rodrigo Espinosa Marty

​​Chile was one of the first Latin American nations with whom New Zealand established diplomatic relations.

Both nations opened embassies in each other’s capitals in 1972 and since then the bilateral relationship has grown into one of New Zealand’s strongest in the world.  
In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview Ambassador Espinosa gives insights on the growing goverment, business and people-to-people links as well as background on Chile's role in regional trade and political forums.  Click Here for Full Interview

1 August 2019
________
​
​Editor:
Thomas Manning
​​
​​Publisher:
Manning Group Limited​
​
All Rights Reserved​ ​©​​​
​
Associated Press
Cuba debuts modern Chinese train as rail overhaul begins

HAVANA (AP) — The first train using new equipment from China has pulled out of Havana, hauling excited passengers on the start of a 915-kilometer (516-mile) journey to the eastern end of the island as the government starts to overhaul the country’s aging and decrepit rail system.

​The 14 gleaming Chinese cars and a locomotive departed the city’s central train station to wend their way through nine cities before ending in Guantanamo 15 hours later. It has four air-conditioned wagons and a rolling restaurant car. Previously the trip could take days because of equipment breakdowns and track erosion....
​
​Buenos Aires Times
Finland's UPM to go ahead with US$3-billion pulp plant in Uruguay

Finnish company UPM said Tuesday it will go ahead with plans to invest more than US$3 billion to build a eucalyptus pulp plant in Uruguay.

The plant will begin functioning in the second semester of 2022 and construction is set to begin “immediately” and cost US$2.7 billion to set up the plant itself and US $350 million on river port and logistical facilities.
​
The company already operates one such plant in Uruguay. It was highly contentious because it is located on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina, which sued over the potential fallout to the waterway....
OZY
Doctors Flee Venezuela and Save Lives In Remote Chile ​​
​
Americas Quarterly
​Responses to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis: A Scorecard
ENGLISH LANGUAGE BUSINESS NEWS BY COUNTRY
LATIN AMERICAN COMMENTARY
​Media Columnist; ​Thomas Manning​
Buenos Aires Times
​New Zealand - The Loss of Innocence
EMA BusinessPlus Magazine
​Brazil's Messiah
'Black Gold Bonanza for Guyana' 
Columnist: Thomas Manning
DIPLOMATIC & TRADE NEWS
​New Zealand Foreign Minister and Ambassador to Colombia Strengthen Ties
& NZ Tango Festival is Great Success
New Zealand Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters (on right) held bilateral talks with Colombian Foreign Minister HE Carlos Holmes Trujillo, in Washington DC on July 16. - Photo credit Ben King Twitter

​
New Zealand agritech will be represented at the Expo Agrofuturo 2019 (September 18 through 20, Plaza Mayor, Medellín, Colombia). The Expo is a venue where productive chain stakeholders find strategic partners, distributors and representatives for their products.  Pictured above at Agrofuturo 2018, HE Lucy Duncan, New Zealand Ambassador to Colombia and HE Andrés Valencia Pinzón, Colombian Minister of Agriculture. - Photo credit 'El Nuevo Siglo'
Juliette Fox (centre), Director of the recent and very successful New Zealand Tango Festival with Embassy of Argentina officials; Consul Agustina Tentoni (L); Minister Mariana Alvarez Rodriguez (R) - Photo credit Embassy of Argentina Facebook

​
​Forbes
The Best Luxury Hotels In Buenos Aires

Fine wine, Argentine steaks, world-class polo, sultry tango. Buenos Aires prides itself (with good reason) on sophisticated taste and dramatic flair.

​With a deep appreciation for art, antiques and craftsmanship, the city certainly knows how to do luxury.

​Whether you prefer an intimate boutique hotel such as Francis Ford Coppola’s former home, an opulent neoclassical palace or the fantastical and decadent world of the Phillipe Starck-designed Faena Hotel, there’s a luxe hotel to suit all tastes. 
A Brazilian Business and Academic Delegation is scheduled to visit New Zealand in October 2019 for a round of visits and meetings with local businesses, research centres and government organizations.

Led by entrepreneurs Mr Roberto Salazar and Prof. Rogério Bohn, the delegation consists of Brazilian businessmen with varied backgrounds ranging from retail to construction and cooperative credit, among others.

​The mission will visit Auckland and Wellington to get to know the business environment in New Zealand.  Please contact the Brazilian Embassy for more details.

​The Argentine Government has set up a special agency to assist foreign investors.  You can Contact the agency here & View or Download the Investment Guide.
'Crouching Tiger' - Latin America in China's sights
Columnist: Thomas Manning
LATIN AMERICAN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS​
10 July 2019 - Regional growth is seen remaining soft in 2019

​Regional growth is seen remaining soft this year and the forecast was cut for the fourth month in a row in July. Trade tensions and subdued external demand will hamper exports, and spillover into investment, which is also being held back by political uncertainty in key economies. Activity is expected to be sluggish in major players Brazil and Mexico, while Argentina will remain in recession.
​
Brazil Economic Outlook

Incoming data suggests that the economy is struggling to gain momentum after GDP contracted for the first time since the 2015–2016 recession in Q1.....

Mexico Economic Outlook

Although the United States shelved its so-called immigration tariffs on Mexican imports before they went into effect in early June, the ordeal’s toll on economic sentiment highlighted the degree to which uncertainty has been hounding the economy this year.....
​
Colombia Economic Outlook

Available data suggests that the relatively weak dynamics of Q1 persisted in the second quarter. Retail sales growth eased in April.....

Argentina Economic Outlook

GDP continued to dive in Q1, on the back of another sharp contraction in domestic demand, only partially cushioned by a stronger external sector. Nevertheless, available indicators for Q2 point to a significant improvement: The pace of contraction eased markedly in April.....
​
Competitiveness: Brazil, Mexico Improve

Brazil, Mexico and Colombia improved while Argentina, Chile and Peru worsened their competitiveness the past year, according to the latest competitiveness ranking from Swiss-based business school IMD.....
Ecuador Sees Benefits of Dollarization

Nearly two decades of dollarization have helped Ecuador, experts say.  Ecuador dollarized its economy in January 2000. What have been the advantages and disadvantages of dollarization for the South American country? What consequences does having a dollarized economy have on Ecuador’s economic situation today, and will it ever go back to floating its own currency? How likely is it that President Lenín Moreno’s government will resort to the International Monetary Fund to help resolve its latest economic problems?

Mauricio Pozo, former Minister of Finance of Ecuador and academic advisor at Universidad Internacional SEK: Ecuador underwent dollarization 19 years ago. It has been clearly positive, allowing the country to adequately deal with political crises such as those that occurred at the beginning of the 2000s, with the overthrow of two then-presidents.....

Pablo Zambrano, executive president of the Industry and Production Chamber (CIP) in Ecuador: Although the U.S. dollar was already widely used for financial transactions in the late 1990s, in January 2000 the authorities took the dollar as legal tender and abandoned the Ecuadorean sucre as a last resort amid a serious economic and financial crisis.....

Marco Naranjo Chiriboga, professor at Escuela Politécnica Nacional and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador: There has certainly been enough time to evaluate Ecuador’s dollarized monetary system. The advantages have definitely been clear, especially in relation to monetary stability. Ecuador, thanks to dollarization, has had single-digit annual inflation—less than 1 percent in the last two years, 0.2 percent in 2017 and 0.27 percent in 2018—and has eliminated exchange-rate risk.....
'New Zealand and the Loss of Innocence'
Columnist: Thomas Manning'

​VIDEO - LATIN AMERICAN / NZ BUSINESS & ECONOMICS​​
2019 Latin American Business Conference Highlights

UCLA Anderson School of Management annual Latin American Business conference....
​
​
Meet Latin America's Top 10 Universities 2019

Take a peek at the top 10 universities in Latin America, and view the new QS Latin America University Rankings 2019....
Viva editor Janetta Mackay talks about the growing cosmetics market

A weekly New Zealand Herald Videocast  about the NZ economy by Business Editor Liam Dann & Guests... 
'Brazil's Messiah' - A new President takes Charge
Columnist: Thomas Manning

​CULTURAL NEWS​​

​
​Mayan and Māori activists meet to discuss effects of colonialism

As part of the University of Otago's Maya-Māori cultural economy exchange last month, four Mayan academics visited New Zealand to share their experiences of colonisation. Alice Webb-Liddall spoke to the group about what indigenous people can learn from their shared experiences. 

Aguilar Velásquez is one of four Guatemalan activist filmmakers who came to the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association conference (NAISA) to share the struggles of the indigenous Maya people. With her three colleagues - Mayan social anthropologists Dr Gio B'atz' and Dr. Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj (pictured left) and Professor of Indigenous studies Emil' Keme.

"It's easy to get stuck in a bubble of your own survival," says Maria Aguilar Velásquez. "But when we travel we realise we share a lot with other indigenous cultures around the world."

​Standing under the corrugated iron roof of the converted cowshed of Kaitiaki Village at Ihumātao, the south Auckland settlement where local iwi have occupied the land in a peaceful protest against a proposed housing development, she was clearly inspired by Māori fighting the legacy of colonial power.....

University of Otago Maori Faculty, republished by the Spinoff

​RECOMMENDED VIEWING FROM NETFLIX'S LATIN AMERICAN CONTENT
​​
'Quid Pro Quo for Venezuela'
Columnist Thomas Manning

EMBASSY E-NEWS

NEWSLETTERS, blogs & press releases​​

Business News and information from the NZ Government
​New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, July 2019
Latin America New Zealand Business Council July 2019 Newsletter
South America Land Prices Review
​Monthly Newsletter of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce for
​Asia and the Pacific (Spanish Language)
The Bubble Podcast every Friday evening (BUE time) focusing on
​the stories that made the headlines during the week in Argentina. ​

exchange rates, stocks & tenders

NZ/Latin American Exchange Rates
NZ Stock Exchange
​Latam Stock Exchanges
​LatAm Interest Rates
NZ Interest Rates
​Caribbean
​Central America
​Mexico
​New Zealand
​South America
'Demented Reef Fish'
Columnist Thomas Manning

PUBLISHER & EDITOR
​​

​'Latin American Business Digest' © is a free fortnightly E-digest aggregating New Zealand - Latin American Business News, Economic Analysis, Market Reports & Video published by Manning Group Limited and edited by Thomas Manning who has advised on and managed projects for New Zealand companies in Latin America for over 30 years,  Thomas is a former Vice President of the Latin America New Zealand Business Council and is a Buenos Aires Times Columnist who also writes regularly for EMA's BusinessPLus Magazine. Thomas' Linkedin Profile & Media Archive

archive​

2018

For copies of 2016 & 2017 Editions please use contact form below to request a copy

'New Broom in Mexico'
 Columnist; Thomas Manning
 'Muy Simpatico, Mr Tabuteau'
 Columnist; Thomas Manning

latin american business digest AFFILIATES​
With 40 years’ marketplace experience and exports to more than twenty countries from its plant in Rosario, Argentina, Condor Group SRL is a world-class manufacturer with divisions dedicated to industrial power generation, industrial air compressors and pneumatic equipment, and specialized tyre reconstruction for commercial fleet operators.
Richardson & Associates is the Southern Cone's leading Law Firm & Patent Attorneys specalising in New Zealand Trade
Camara del Asia y el Pacifico is a Buenos Aires-based chamber of commerce with member companies dealing with foreign trade, banking, finance, air and sea transport, insurance, tourism, education, investment,  services in Asia and the Pacific.
Transpacific Business Tours’ directors have a successful track-record of over 30 years in tour management in New Zealand and throughout Latin America with a focus on Delegations & Trade Missions as well as personally guided tours tailored for investors & business people.
Transpolar flight grows NZ trade opportunities in Latin America
Columnist; Thomas Manning
Manning Group Limited

Postal Address: P.  O. Box 1 1 857, Manners Street
Wellington, New Zealand 6010

    Email: