Chile Forecasts Copper Price Rise; Citigroup Begins Banamex Sale

Bloomberg Línea — Chile, the world’s top copper producer, has raised its projection for prices of the metal, citing a commodity rally exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) expects prices to average $4.40 a pound this year, up from an estimate of $3.95 three months ago.



Citigroup (C) has begun the process of selling its Mexican retail business, Banamex. “We have started the sale process in Mexico and there is significant interest in this iconic franchise,” said Citi’s CEO Jane Fraser,at a conference with analysts and investors on Thursday.

Thursday was a public holiday in most Latin American countries, and only the stock markets of Chile and Brazil traded, both of which closed with losses. Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) dropped 0.51%, dragged down by the performance of the stock markets in the United States and the information technology, materials and real estate sectors. 



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

Argentina:

• The government, the tourism and gastronomic sectors maintain strong expectations regarding Easter Week, in a context in which the items achieve a recovery after the restrictions ordered within the framework of the health crisis due to the pandemic. Furthermore, in a context in which Argentines can no longer purchase tickets abroad in interest-free installments, domestic tourism has benefited.



Brazil:

• Petrobras has named José Mauro Coelho as the state oil company’s new CEO, at a time when high fuel prices have put the company, which is Latin America’s largest oil produce, under political scrutiny.



Chile:

• Chile, the world’s top copper producer, raised its projection for prices of the metal, citing a commodity rally exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) expects prices to average US$4.40 a pound this year, it said Thursday in a presentation, up from an estimate of $3.95 three months ago.



Colombia:

• The department of Boyacá, located in central Colombia, is set to formally launch commercial aviation from June. Boyacá was the only department in the country without an operational airport, despite having several airfields that were built in the 1950s and 1960s.



Costa Rica:

• The Hass avocado import dispute is the first international trade restriction on agricultural products that the country has been able to lift. 



Ecuador:

• In Ecuador, eight out of every 10 cigarettes sold are contraband, according to research by consultancy Invamer, hired by the tobacco industry. The largest amount of contraband cigarettes are imported from Asia, the report states.



Guatemala:

• A glyph in the shape of a deer’s head below two dots and a line is the oldest evidence of a calendar notation on record in Mayan culture, researchers said in an article published in the journal Science Advances.



Mexico:

• Citigroup has begun the process of selling its Mexican retail banking business, Banamex. “We have started the sale process in Mexico and there is significant interest in this iconic franchise,” said Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi, at a conference with analysts and investors.



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Exclusive: Banca Mifel Seeks to Buy Banamex

Jesús de la Fuente, president of Mexico’s Stock Market Commission (CNBV) tells Bloomberg Línea that the buyer will be announced in November

Panama:

• Panama has joined the international Open Budget movement, which seeks to make transparent what public money is invested in.



Peru:

• Economist Miguel Jaramillo warned in an interview with Bloomberg Línea about the consequences of restricting temporary contracts and making layoffs more expensive, which could occur with the Peruvian government’s proposed new labor code.



Uruguay:

• Consulting firm McKinsey has opened offices in Uruguay, where it aims to work with projects linked to renewable energies, the financial sector, and the technological ecosystem among other areas in which it will seek to shore up the performance of local companies.



Venezuela:

• A group of 25 Venezuelans, representatives of the private sector and civil society, sent a letter to President Joe Biden, among other U.S. government authorities, requesting relief from economic sanctions imposed on Venezuela, as a measure of pressure against the administration of Nicolás Maduro.