Bloomberg Línea — The Argentine government has finally reached an agreement with the staff of the International Monetary Fund and the letter of understanding was sent to Congress Thursday for debate and a vote. The final approval of the IMF board of directors is still pending, however.
Brazilian farmers face problems buying fertilizers to plant the next soybean crop after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is a major ammonia producer, presenting yet another problem for producers already facing high costs.
On the region’s stock markets, Chile’s IPSA (IPSA) rebounded on Thursday and closed with the best performance in Latin America, up 1.88%, and Argentina’s Merval (MERVAL) had the second best day of the region following the government’s announcement of the new agreement with the IMF.
Mexico’s S&P BMV/IPC (MEXBOL) also ended the session with gains, thanks to the performance of sectors such as materials and finance.
Following is a roundup of Thursday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- The Argentine government has finally reached an agreement with the staff of the International Monetary Fund and the letter of understanding was sent to Congress Thursday for debate and a vote. The final approval of the IMF board of directors is still pending, however. Presidential spokesperson Gabriela Cerruti confirmed in a morning press conference that an agreement was reached on the tariff issue that will allow the country to move forward in “a subsidy segmentation scheme”.
- And looking to take advantage of the spoils of war, Argentina is seeing an opportunity to supply markets whose supply has been affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Brazil:
- Brazilian farmers face problems buying fertilizers to plant the next soybean crop after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is a major ammonia producer, presenting yet another problem for producers already facing high costs.
- Itaú Unibanco (ITUB4), the largest private bank in Brazil, reported problems on Thursday in the display of information in some customers’ account statements, with customers reporting unidentified withdrawals and deposits on social networks.
- Self-testing kits for Covid-19 are starting to hit drugstore shelves this week in São Paulo.
Chile:
- The government bond market must become aware of climate-related risks, according to a report that calls for more countries to follow Chile’s example in issuing debt linked to sustainability targets.
- According to a survey by Criteria Research, 36% of Chileans would vote in favor of approving the new constitution, while 21% said they would vote against it.
- SQM, the world’s second largest lithium producer, approved a $250 million capacity expansion as the raw material faces “significant” price increases amid the increase in electric car production.
Colombia:
- The weather continues to wreak havoc on Colombian coffee production, which fell 16% in February, while exports fell 23%, the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers (FNC) reported Thursday.
- It is estimated that close to 1.2 million Colombian households still cook with firewood in the country, despite the fact that natural gas service in Colombia has a penetration level of close to 80%.
- Amazon head Jeff Bezos is visiting Colombia for a meeting with President Iván Duque.
Costa Rica:
- Costa Rican entrepreneurs will have a new opportunity to access financing for their businesses through a new social bond. An alliance between IDB Invest, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica and FinDevCanada will allow Costa Rican entrepreneurs to have access to capital to finance the development of their small and medium-sized businesses.
Dominican Republic:
- A piña colada, a dessert or just as part of a diet, no matter how you prefer it, the sweetness and versatility of the pineapple positions it among the agricultural products of the Dominican Republic with the highest demand in international markets.
Ecuador:
- Ecuador will receive more revenues due to the increase in oil prices, and which will have a favorable impact on the country’s fiscal coffers. But not everything is rosy, as there is a negative effect that will fall on users: the increase in gasoline prices.
- The Ecuadorian government could avoid selling bonds in the market in 2022 if the current gains in oil prices are maintained for a sufficient amount of time.
Mexico:
- Walmart (WMT), one of the world’s largest supermarket chains, announced the relaunch of its remittance service to Mexico after a four-year hiatus. The service, which began operating in 2016 but was suspended in 2018, allows customers to send money from Walmart stores in the United States to units of its subsidiary Walmart de México y Centroamérica (WALMEX*).
- The central bank’s deputy governors are giving few clues about the monetary policy decision coming up on March 24.
- The Mexican Stock Exchange, with only 144 companies, ranks 26th among the stock exchanges with the highest capitalization value in U.S. dollars, according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).
Uruguay:
- The Uruguayan government expects to see progress in the next few days on a private initiative involving an initial investment of $200 million to produce ethanol from organic waste in Montevideo and Canelones, the two most populated provinces in the country. The aim is to export this energy to supply, among others, the ships of shipping company Maersk.
Venezuela:
- Delivery companies in Venezuela will be subject to an investigation after an order by President Nicolás Maduro, with the social protection of employees the first point to be considered.
- With the rise in oil prices, revenues for Venezuela are expected to be between $1.5 billion and $2 billion per month.
