Bloomberg Línea — Brazil’s Senate took a first step on Tuesday to regulate the domestic cryptocurrency market with the advance in the processing of a bill that creates basic rules for digital currency funds and their daily use.
In Mexico Telcel, América Móvil’s mobile business in the country, announced the beginning of the deployment of its 5G network service, its most important launch in Latin America. The initial deployment covers 18 cities in the country, with a potential reach of 48 million people, América Móvil executives said at a press conference.
And on the stock markets, the Mexican stock market had the best performance in Latin America, closing with a gain of 1.11%, while shares of Grupo Carso (GCARSOA1), América Móvil (AMXL) and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAPB) were among the best performers of the day.
Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV), the leading index of the largest stock market by market capitalization in the region, was the second best performer, ending with a gain of 1.04%.
Following is a roundup of Tuesday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- The Argentine government issued a decree on Tuesday authorizing more local debt issuance for this year based on the 2021 budget, which was extended to 2022. The decree authorizes the Argentine Treasury to issue an additional $7.4 billion in notes this year.
- There are still some issues hindering the final announcement of a deal between the government and the International Monetary Fund.
- SoFi Technologies (SOFI), a San Francisco-based digital personal finance company, announced on Tuesday a $1.1 billion merger and acquisition agreement with Argentina’s Technisys, making the latter Argentina’s newest unicorn.
Brazil:
Chile:
- Chilean unicorn NotCo has taken a surprising step in its business, announcing Tuesday that is has created a joint venture together with KraftHeinz (KHC). The new company aims to accelerate plant-based, artificial intelligence-driven innovation worldwide.
- Chile is evaluating investor interest in a possible sale of bonds linked to its sustainable goals, a move that would make it the first country to issue this type of debt.
Colombia:
- Bargain-basement stores continue in slowdown, as they were the preferred purchase channel of 15.68% of low-income consumers in January 2021, but that percentage dropped to 12.2% last month.
- Credicorp Capital held a webinar in which Gabriel Migowski, CEO of Rappi Pay Colombia, participated and talked about how the relationship between the entity and Davivienda has been, what is coming, and how they are seeing the alliance with the entity going forward.
Ecuador:
- A bill to strengthen investments in the country was presented this Tuesday to the National Assembly by President Guillermo Lasso as an urgent economic proposal. The proposed law would focus on four aspects: public-private partnerships, stock market reform, free zones and digital transformation. All related to the purpose of creating jobs.
- Lasso said Tuesday that he does not rule out running for reelection in 2025.
Guatemala:
- Logistics activities in Guatemala have benefited from the reactivation of international trade, which, together with the container crisis, caused the prices of such services to increase considerably.
Mexico:
- Telcel, América Móvil’s mobile business in Mexico, announced the beginning of the deployment of its 5G network service, its most important launch in Latin America. The initial deployment covers 18 cities in the country, with a potential reach of 48 million people, América Móvil executives said at a press conference.
- Sigma Alimentos, a Mexican producer known for its brands Fud, San Rafael and Campofrío, is looking to grow its business this year with investment in startups to leverage growth.
- The price of avocado in Mexico dropped 4.1% due to the pause in exports of the fruit to the U.S.
Panama:
- A survey conducted by Gallup Panama for Grupo Epasa in February reveals that 64% of the participants in the study disapprove of the administration of President Laurentino Cortizo. The president has added four percentage points of disapproval, compared to the results of last January.
Uruguay:
- President Luis Lacalle Pou ended his visit to Dubai on Tuesday, where he had been seeking to strengthen ties with Emirati authorities and business leaders, and whom he invited to “become partners” and “invest” in Uruguay. The President was accompanied by Uruguayan business leaders from sectors such as agriculture, industry and technology who are seeking to establish commercial ties with Gulf nations.
- In an interview with Bloomberg Línea, Diego Labat, the president of the Uruguayan central bank, stated that “monetary policy will continue to act as much as necessary to make expectations converge” within the inflation target range.
