Chile’s Economic Recovery Stalls; Ecuador to Renegotiate Debt with China

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Bloomberg Línea — In December, Chile’s economic activity recorded its first monthly contraction since April of last year amid adverse factors such as a sharp pullback in emergency spending and steep interest rate hikes, which are hastening the end of a consumption boom. The country’s new President, Gabriel Boric, will take office on March 11.

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has begun a visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping to renegotiate the country’s debt with Beijing.

Following is a roundup of Tuesday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.

Argentina

President Alberto Fernández is to begin an international tour that will take him to Russia, China and Barbados following his government’s agreement in principle with the International Monetary Fund regarding the country’s $44 billion debt, and while the government is facing a debate at home on how much electricity and gas tariffs should be raised to face the deficit generated by subsidizing them.

Brazil

Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has suspended the decision limiting the distribution of dividends from the real estate investment fund Maxi Renda FII (MXRF11), managed by BTG Pactual, due to a change in accounting criteria.
BrasilAgro will open the harvest of quarterly results of companies linked to the agribusiness chain. The company, which operates in the commercialization of agricultural land and grain production, will release its second quarter results next Tuesday.

Chile

Chile’s economic activity recorded its first monthly contraction since April as adverse factors, such as a sharp pullback in emergency spending and sharp interest rate hikes, are hastening the end of a consumption boom.
Chilean insurance technology startup Betterfly plans to expand abroad after its latest round of financing increased its valuation to $1 billion.

Colombia

According to a recent report by Davivienda bank’s economic team, Colombia’s industrial sector again lost growth momentum in January.
The stock market continues to move at the pace of Grupo Gilinski’s offerings. On Tuesday, the shares of Grupo Sura (GRUPOSUR) and Grupo Nutresa (NUTRESA) soared after the two companies restarted negotiations with Grupo Gilinski over the latter’s takeover bids. Sources close to the three companies told Bloomberg Línea about the possibility of combining the former two companies’ boards of directors.

Ecuador

President Guillermo Lasso has begun one of the most complicated challenges of his term in office: to negotiate Ecuador’s debt with China. To that end, he traveled to China after accepting an invitation by President Xi Jinping.
The government has signed a contract with Abastibles, authorizing the company to receive, transport, store and dispatch petroleum products in Petroecuador’s infrastructure for a 15-year period.

Mexico

Mexico received a record $51.6 billion in remittances last year, helping to soften the impact of a stagnant economy on consumers. Money sent by Mexican workers abroad soared 27% compared to 2020.
The green hydrogen market for Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and state utility CFE will be worth approximately $2.1 billion annually by 2050.
Ricardo Aldana has been appointed to head the Pemex trade union during the second half of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s six-year term, which ends in 2024.

Peru

Peru’s inflation was 0.04% in January, driven by the increase in prices of consumer items, which in the last twelve months (February 2021 - January 2022) reached a variation of 5.68%, according to the country’s statistics bureau INEI.

Venezuela

Venezuela’s currency, the bolivar, seems to have finally bottomed out after years of incessant declines that left it almost worthless and plunged millions of people into poverty.