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Bloomberg Línea — Colombia plans to export a surplus of about 40,000 barrels of oil to the U.S. as the war in Ukraine has prompted Washington to ban imports of Russian oil, while Costa Rica’s exports increased by 15% year-on-year in February.
On the region’s stock markets, Colombia’s COLCAP index saw the sharpest gains, up 2.03% at closing, driven by the hike in the price of Ecopetrol (ECOPETL) shares, which closed with a 5.09% increase to highs not seen since 2019.
Following is a roundup of Wednesday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- According to a report by Scrap Car Comparison, Argentina is the second most expensive country in the world, after Turkey, in which to buy and maintain a vehicle.
Brazil:
- The 2022 ranking of the Index of Entrepreneurial Cities, drawn up by Brazil’s National Public Administration School (ENAP), with support from entrepreneurial support network Endeavor, places São Paulo (the country’s most populous city) in first place as the best location for entrepreneurship. The other cities in the rankings’ top 10 cities are Florianópolis, Curitiba, Vitória, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegra, São José dos Campos, Osasco, Joinville and Cuiabá.
- Former São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin has joined Brazil’s socialist party, and is lining up as a possible running mate for former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s in the October general elections.
Colombia:
- Colombia expects to export a surplus of about 40,000 barrels of oil to the U.S. as the war in Ukraine has prompted Washington to ban imports of Russian oil. Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa, said: “The great opportunity is that Colombia has a much better hydrocarbons apparatus than Venezuela”.
- Presidential candidate Gustavo Petro announced that Francia Márquez will be his vice-presidential candidate.
Costa Rica:
- The country’s foreign trade promotion agency reported that Costa Rica’s goods exports increased by 15% year-on-year in February.
Dominican Republic:
- In the first three months of 2022, 29 filming permits have been issued in the Dominican Republic as the Caribbean nation continued to be a favorite location for film companies. In 2021, Paramount Pictures, Netflix, Universal, Lions Gate and Disney were just some of the production houses that shot movies or series in the country. The film industry is an important foreign exchange generator for the country, attracts foreign investment, boosts tourism and generates jobs.
Ecuador:
- Unemployment in the country fell 1.1% in February, to 4.3%.
- President Guillermo Lasso urged Congress to approve a proposed investment law, with voting to take place on Thursday
El Salvador:
- The government of El Salvador has selected state-owned company LaGeo to issue its $1 billion Bitcoin Bond sometime in the first half of this year, the Ministry of Finance said. LaGeo is a geothermal energy generator.
Mexico:
- Bond investors’ expectations for Mexico’s inflation are the highest in at least a decade, and may continue to rise unless the central bank issues a hawkish message in its monetary policy decision on Thursday.
- Italy’s Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi estimated that it will produce 10% less oil in Mexico this year, below its contractual obligations. The contract dates from the 2012-2018 administration of former President Enrique Peña Nieto, as a result of the energy reform that allowed private companies to participate in oil and gas auctions.
- Grupo Aeroméxico (AEROMEX*) has established a trust agreement with AP Aguila Holdings, which takes on the company’s shares as underlying assets. The agreement follows the airline’s restructuring following its bankruptcy filing as a result of the pandemic.
Panama:
- An indefinite strike could start on April 4 that would shake the foundations of the Panamanian construction industry, a sector that in the third quarter of 2019, before the pandemic, contributed $1.55 billion to GDP.
Venezuela:
- How committed is the Venezuelan government to Russia’s Vladimir Putin? More than 20 bilateral agreements, about many of which there are scant details, exist between both countries in what appears to be an almost untouchable alliance.
