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Energy
Mexico, U.S. Negotiate Terms For Oil Extraction In The Gulf Of Mexico
July 28, 2008
Mexico and the U.S. are negotiating terms under which oil extraction will be done in the Gulf of Mexico. The governments of both countries have had several talks regarding the limits and procedures to follow in order to extract the oil in the Gulf of Mexico’s “Occidental Polygon” region, also know as the “Doughnut Hole” oil field. Authorities from both States are also working on a border oilfields map since the agreement they signed to procrastinate oil extraction in the maritime border expires in 2011.
U.S. Awards Concessions To Extract Oil From Wells In The Maritime Border
July 31, 2008
The U.S. has awarded oil companies Shell, British Petroleum, Amoco and Chevron Texaco concessions to extract oil from wells in the maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico in the short term, as an agreement signed by the U.S. and Mexico to procrastinate oil extraction in the said location will expire by 2011. Meanwhile, Pemex’s lack of updated technologies for exploration and oil production have led the company to award contracts to foreign companies such as Schlumberger and Halliburton, which together have obtained 554 contracts totaling MXN 135 billion since 2000.
Pemex Heads Latin America’s Top 500 Companies List
July 28, 2008
According to America Economia magazine’s top 500 Latin American companies ranking, Pemex is the region’s bigger company with net sales amounting to USD 103.8 billion. Pemex was closely followed by Brazilian peer Petrobras, which had net sales of USD 96.3 billion. Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA ranked third with net sales amounting to USD 96.2 billion. The 500 companies’ net sales totaled USD 1.95 trillion.
Pemex Pays MXN 433.4 Billion In Taxes In 1H
July 30, 2008
Pemex announced that it paid MXN 433.4 billion in taxes in the first six months of the year and that the said contribution surpassed the company’s net profit in the period by nearly MXN 18.9 billion. In addition, Pemex reported a 56% drop in its 2Q net profit to MXN 16.7 billion, down from MXN 38.3 billion in 2Q 2007. Results from the series of debates that were held in Congress regarding the oil sector reform provided data on Pemex’s financial issues and revealed that they surpass MXN 3 trillion.
Mexico Oil Output To Close 2008 At 2.8 Million B/D
July 30, 2008
Pemex said it plans to close 2008 with oil output at 2.8 million barrels per day (B/D), down from its initial forecast of 3.1 million B/D. Pemex pumped 2.8 million B/D in 2Q, down 11.5% from the year-ago period. During 1H, Pemex pumped an average of 2.86 million B/D. Officials from the Energy Ministry (SENER) said it will be difficult for Mexico to get back to 3 million B/D in crude oil production due to the long time it takes projects to get off the ground. Crude production at Pemex fell below 3 million B/D late last year, after peaking in 2004 at 3.4 million B/D.
Energy Minister Kessel Comments On PRI’s Oil Sector Proposal
July 30, 2008
Energy Minister Georgina Kessel said that the alternative oil sector reform proposal submitted by the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) does not solve Pemex’s refining, transportation, storage and distribution issues. Nevertheless, Kessel said that there are enough similarities between PRI’s and President Calderon’s proposals to allow a preliminary document to be voted at Congress. Kessel urged all parties at Congress to find the best solutions possible for Pemex.
Pemex Proposes New Oil Refinery
July 30, 2008
Pemex has presented a plan for a new oil refinery with a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (B/D) of heavy crude. Pemex suggested 9 possible sites in a proposal to Congress for the refinery, which is urgently needed as the firm pays billions of dollars to import costly foreign fuel to cover a 40% shortfall in domestic refining. The refinery would begin to be built in 2010 and might be concluded by 2015. Investment in the project is estimated to be between USD 1.4 billion and USD 1.9 billion. Of the 9 suggested locations, Tuxpan, in the state of Veracruz, would be the less costly.
Gas Natural Net Profit Boosted By Mexican Operations
July 31, 2008
Executives from Spanish gas company Gas Natural said that the company’s 1H net profit amounted to EUR 562.7 billion, a 10.2% increase than compared to the year ago period. Gas Natural said that the increase was mostly due to the firm’s gas generation operations in Spain and Mexico. In addition, Gas Natural has acquired a 45.3% stake in Spanish energy company Union Fenosa, including its Mexican assets for EUR 7.5 billion. With the acquisition, Gas Natural, which has recently purchased Ếlectricité de France electric plants in Mexico, will strengthen its presence in the country.
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Mining
Grupo Mexico Faces USD 1.3 Billion In Losses From Strike
July 29, 2008
Mexican miner Grupo Mexico (GMex) said the year-long strike at its Cananea copper mine, in the state of Sonora, had cost the company USD 1.3 billion in lost sales, USD 650 million in unmade profit, and a 40% drop in Mexico’s overall copper output, while workers have lost about USD 49,000 each in wages and profit-sharing. The National Mining and Metal Workers Union (STMMSRM) started the strike at Cananea on July 30, 2007.
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Banking, Insurance & Finance
Bank Lending To Private Sector Up 15% In June
August 1, 2008
The Central Bank (Banxico) said that bank lending to Mexico’s private sector increased 15% year-on-year at the end of June, led by commercial lending. Direct performing loans reached just over MXN 1.54 trillion at the end of June, up from MXN 1.27 trillion a year earlier. Commercial loans to businesses grew 22.1% on the year to MXN 741.6 billion at the end of June, with the manufacturing, construction and service sectors showing the most important increases in credit.
Banxico Criticizes Banks Over Commissions
August 1, 2008
The Central Bank (Banxico) criticized three of the country’s largest banks over the commissions they charge for certain operations, describing them as anti-competitive. The commissions that went into effect August 1 will be “among the highest” in the banking system. Banxico said it does not consider it convenient that institutions operating in a competitive market set their commissions at the highest levels when competition should have the opposite effect; prices should fall to the level of the competitors with the lowest prices.
Bancomer Contributes 32% To BBVA’s Profit
July 30, 2008
Bancomer, the Mexican unit of Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), contributed with 32% of BBVA’s 2Q net profit with USD 1.4 billion. BBVA-Bancomer’s 2Q net profit was 21% higher than compared to 2007 figures, mostly boosted by credit services.
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Business & Industry
ArcelorMittal Announces USD 600 Million Investment In Mexico
August 2, 2008
Luxembourg-based steelmaker company ArcelorMittal said it plans to construct a new steel mill in Mexico, requiring a USD 600 million investment. The new mill will produce carbon steel and bars, including rebar, merchant bar quality and special bar quality products that will principally serve the construction and automotive sectors. The facility will be based on electrical steel making equipment with capacity of one million of metric tons of billets per year and a new bar rolling mill with a capacity of 500,000 metric tons.
Alfa To Acquire Peruvian Cold-Cuts Company Braedt
July 31, 2008
Mexican conglomerate Alfa said its food unit Sigma Alimentos has agreed to acquire Peruvian cold-cuts company Braedt for an undisclosed amount. Monterrey-based Alfa said Braedt, which operates a plant in Lima with 450 employees, is expected to have sales of USD 30 million in 2008. The acquisition is part of Sigma’s geographic expansion plans; it adds Peru to Sigma’s operations in Mexico, the U.S., El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
LyondellBasell Starts Up New PP Compounding Plant In Mexico
July 29, 2008
Dutch producer of compounded polypropylene (PP) products LyondellBasell Industries has announced the start-up of a new PP compounding facility in Altamira, in the state of Tamaulipas, with a nominal capacity of 30 KT per year. The plant, which is immediately adjacent to a PP manufacturing facility operated by Indelpro, a joint venture company of LyondellBasell, will produce a wide range of high-performance, high-quality PP compounds to supply the region’s automotive and appliance manufacturing base.
Volvo To Produce Digging Machines In Mexico
July 30, 2008
Swedish automaker Volvo has announced works to expand a bus facility in Tultitlan, in the State of Mexico (Edomex), to produce digging machines to supply the company’s North and Latin American markets. Executives from Volvo said they chose Mexico due to its geographical location and lower logistics costs.
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Automotive
General Motors Invests USD 1 Billion In Mexico
July 29, 2008
President Calderon inaugurated operations at U.S. automaker General Motors’s (GM) plant in the state of San Luis Potosi to produce the Aveo model, which will be sold in Mexico and South America. The plant, located at the Villa de Reyes municipality, will generate 2,500 direct jobs and more than 17,000 indirect jobs. The state of San Luis Potosi has offered nearly USD 60 million to GM in infrastructure to facilitate the opening of the new plant and the creation of jobs, in addition to lands valued at USD 40 million.
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Construction & Infrastructure
Cemex To Sell Austrian, Hungarian Units
July 31, 2008
Mexican cement maker Cemex announced that it has agreed to sell operations in Hungary and Austria to Austrian construction firm Strabag for USD 480 million. Strabag is Europe’s leading construction and building materials group. The agreement is subject to approval by regulatory authorities and Strabag’s board of directors. Proceeds of the sale will be used to reduce Cemex’s debt.
Pachuca-Ecatepec Highway Expansion To Cost Over MXN 1 Billion
July 29, 2008
The Communications and Transport Ministry (SCT) announced it will broaden the Mexico-Pachuca highway to eight lanes between km 12 and km 22 and that investment for the project will surpass MXN 1 billion. In addition, the Environment Ministry (SEMARNAT) ruled that the Lerma-Tres Marias highway project was approved with some conditions that raise the budget for the project by 20%.
FPN, Chinese Businessmen To Invest USD 105 Million
July 29, 2008
According to an executive from Mexican transportation company, Ferrocarriles Peninsulares del Noroeste (FPN), Chinese businessmen and the said firm announced that they are planning a joint investment surpassing USD 105 million to develop and maintain the Tijuana-Tecate railroad network, which would provide transportation services to the port of Ensenada, in the state of Baja California, and to the U.S. state of California.
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Retail
Grupo Gigante Offers To Buy 50% Of Office Depot For USD 430 Million
June 29, 2008
Mexican retailer Grupo Gigante said that it has offered to acquire a 50% stake in office supplies, products and furniture seller Office Depot for USD 430 million. Gigante said that the operation is still subject to approval by its board of directors and regulatory authorities.
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Transportation
SCT Suggest Airlines Merge To Address Sector Crisis
July 30, 2008
The Communications and Transport Ministry (SCT) submitted a proposal to legislators and representatives from the air transport industry to face the sector’s current crisis. SCT suggested some airlines merge to address increasing fuel costs and prices for consumers, reducing the demand for air travel. SCT stated that the air sector crisis has cost Mexico MXN 2.7 billion during the first quarter, a 95% increase than compared with 1Q 2007.
Interjet Buys Rights To Use Mexico City Airport
July 31, 2008
Mexican low-cost airline Interjet has purchased the rights of troubled carrier Aerocalifornia to operate from the Mexico City International Airport. Federal regulators suspended Aerocalifornia last week after the company failed to meet a deadline to pay USD 25.9 million in fees dating back to 2005. Financial details of the operation were not disclosed.
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Telecommunications & Technology
Telmex Says SCT Is Responsible For Its Inability To Provide Triple Play
July 30, 2008
Telmex said that the Communications and Transport Ministry (SCT) is responsible for the company’s inability to provide triple play services since it has not changed the firm’s concession. Telmex said that SCT’s actions are affecting 65 million Mexicans that could benefit from lower cable TV, telephone and internet fees.
Telefonica’s 2Q Mexico Wireless Subscribers Up 38% To 14.1 Million
July 31, 2008
Spanish telephone provider Telefonica said its wireless subscriber base in Mexico reached 14.1 million at the end of 2Q, up 38% from a year earlier. Telefonica Moviles Mexico, which operates under the Movistar brand, is the country’s second-largest mobile service provider behind America Movil unit Telcel, which had 52.9 million wireless customers at the end of June. Grupo Iusacell had 4.1 million subscribers at the end of 2Q, and Nextel Mexico, a unit of NII Holdings, had 2.4 million.
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Media & Entertainment
IFAI Orders SEGOB To Present Analysis On The Impact Of Casinos In Mexico
July 31, 2008
The Federal Institute For the Access to Information (IFAI) has ordered the Interior Ministry (SEGOB) to issue a public version of a multidisciplinary study on the impacts generated by the installation of casinos in Mexico. IFAI ordered SEGOB to issue the study after a commissioner ruled that SEGOB’s arguments to delay the issuance of the report, written by experts from by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the U.S. and Spain, could not be justified.
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Farming & Agriculture
President Calderon Calls For Rural Alliance
July 29, 2008
President Calderon has called on all the players from the farming sector to build an alliance for a sustainable rural development. President Calderon told several ministers to work jointly with representatives from the sector in order to boost productivity and transparency in handling federal resources under the National Development Program. Meanwhile, the National Peasant Confederation (CNC) announced it welcomed President Calderon’s proposal but has additional demands for the government.
FDA Says Salmonella Strain Found On Mexican Farm
July 30, 2008
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors said they have found samples of Salmonella bacteria at a farm in Mexico that produces serrano peppers. The FDA warned consumers to avoid eating raw serrano peppers from Mexico. The Mexican government rejected the FDA tests and said the sample was from stagnant water in a tank holding rainwater, not water used to irrigate peppers. Mexican officials say that the U.S. is rushing to a false conclusion about finding the strain at a Mexican farm.
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Hospitality & Tourism
SECTUR: Tourism Private Investment Has Surpassed 2008 Target
July 30, 2008
The Tourism Ministry (SECTUR) said that private investment in the tourism sector has surpassed the 2008 USD 3.33 billion target in the first six months of the year. SECTUR said that private investment during 1H amounts to USD 3.35 billion, of which 65% is Mexican capital and the remaining 35% is foreign investment, mostly Spanish and from the U.S. States that received most of the investment are Nayarit, Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California and Baja California Sur.
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Economy
Mexico’s Inflation, Economic Growth Indicators Running Higher
July 30, 2008
The Finance and Public Credit Ministry (SHCP) said that Mexico’s economic growth probably picked up pace in the second quarter. Better-than-expected growth was helped by domestic demand, exports and public spending. Gross domestic product (GDP) likely grew 3% in the second quarter after expanding 2.6% in the first quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, inflation data released by the central bank (Banxico) also suggested higher numbers.
Mexico’s Foreign Reserves Down To USD 78.1 Billion
August 1, 2008
Mexico’s foreign reserves fell by USD 8.75 billion after the federal government bought dollars from the central bank (Banxico) to meet its foreign currency needs in coming months. Banxico said that foreign reserves stood at USD 78.1 billion on July 25, down from a record USD 86.9 billion the previous week. The government purchased USD 8 billion from Banxico, and the bank suspended its daily dollar sales on August 1.
SHCP: Federal Share Up 23%
July 30, 2008
According to figures from the Finance and Public Credit Ministry (SHCP), local governments and municipalities from Mexico’s 31 states received MXN 230.9 billion from federal income during the first six months of the year, a 23.1% increase than compared to 1H 2007. However, SHCP said it only collected MXN 28.79 billion from the flat corporate tax IETU, MXN 3.5 billion less than what was originally sought.
Migrant Remittances Decline 2.2%
July 30, 2008
The central bank (Banxico) said that money sent home by Mexican migrants declined by 2.2% in the first six months of 2008, the first sustained drop in more than a decade. The downturn in U.S. housing construction and stepped-up U.S. immigration raids have made it tougher for migrants to find jobs, and less able to send home money. Remittances are the country’s second-largest legal source of foreign income, after oil exports.
U.N.: Mexico Driven By Inequality
July 28, 2008
According to the United Nations’ (U.N.) “Municipal Human Development Index in Mexico 2000-2005” report, there are municipalities in Mexico that have a level of development on a par with the U.S. average and others which are at the level of Zambia. The country’s Human Development Index (HDI) stands at 0.807 on a scale of 0 to 1, putting Mexico in 55th place in the world in terms of development. During the period, Mexico’s HDI grew by 1.8%, a greater increase than the average among Latin American nations and other developing countries. But the increase was less than the world average, which was calculated to be 3.3%.
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Border & Migration
New Program Allows Illegal Immigrants In The U.S. Time Before Deportation
August 1, 2008
A new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program, dubbed “Operation Scheduled Departure” pilot program will allow illegal immigrants in the U.S. who have ignored deportation orders to turn themselves in without being arrested. In exchange for surrendering, the immigrants will get up to three months to make arrangements for their children or spouses, gather their savings or make other preparations before leaving the country. The program is aimed at about 457,000 illegal immigrants who have deportation orders but no criminal history. It will run from August 5 to August 22.
Study Finds 11% Drop In Illegal Immigrants
July 31, 2008
According to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based think tank, the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. fell about 11% between August 2007 and May, from 12.5 million to 11.2 million. The report indicates that the marked decline in the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. fueled a widening national debate over the Bush administration’s policy of immigration enforcement through aggressive workplace raids. The study concludes that if that rate of decline is sustained, the number of illegal immigrants will be halved in five years.
Obama Campaign To Spend USD 20 Million Wooing Hispanic Voters
July 29, 2008
The campaign of presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama announced that it will invest USD 20 million to attract the Hispanic vote, with more than half the money going to swing states such as Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado. The funds will be aimed at mobilizing and registering new voters, as well as for ad campaigns in traditional media and on the Internet and for contracting new staff exclusively to woo the Latino vote.
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Politics
Congress Eliminates September Presidential Report
July 31, 2008
Legislators have passed a constitutional reform that modifies the “Presidential Report,” a requirement for Mexican presidents to appear before Congress on September 1 every year to present the state of the country and summarize annual achievements, new targets and challenges. Under the new legislation, Presidents will only have to submit a written report to Congress with the results of the latest 12 months.
PT Demands Party President To Resign
July 31, 2008
The Labor Party (PT) is facing internal divisions as some of its members are demanding that the party’s president, Alberto Anaya, resign after 18 years in charge. Those who oppose Anaya accuse him of turning the institution into a personal business and distorting the party’s principles, leading it closer to the right. Opponents to Anaya said that they will seek that electoral authorities invalidate his recent reelection.
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Justice, Safety & Crime
Top Crime Fighting Officials Resign
August 3, 2008
Government officials confirmed that Deputy Attorney General Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, a 20-year veteran of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), has resigned. Vasconcelos decided to retire in light of the restructuring that President Calderon authorized Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora to carry out. Vasconcelos’ departure occurred three days after the resignation of the Assistant Attorney General for Organized Crime Noe Ramirez, who took Vasconcelos’ place as head of the office’s organized-crime bureau (SIEDO). Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) said that the restructuring in Mexico’s security agencies is part of the agreements between Mexico and the U.S. in order to provide the Merida Initiative anti-drug aid to Mexico.
Drug-Related Murders Nearing 2007 Total With Five Months Left In 2008
August 1, 2008
According to figures published by a local newspaper, more than 2,630 people have been killed so far this year in Mexico in crime related violence, nearly equaling the 2,700 murders reported for all of 2007. This year’s death toll includes 249 police officers and soldiers. Of the 489 people slain last month, 45 were members of the security forces and 6 were public officials. Thirteen women and 11 minors were also among the victims.
Authorities Arrest Alleged Colombian Drug Lord
August 1, 2008
Police say they have captured Colombian cartel operative Ever Villafane Martinez, who represented Colombia’s Norte del Valle drug cartel in dealings with Mexico’s Beltran Leyva organization. Authorities said that Villafane Martinez was detained for illegally carrying an assault rifle. The suspect is also known as Marco Antonio Espinoza Tovali. He is wanted on drug charges in the U.S. and escaped from a Colombian prison in 2001.
U.S. Authorities Cannot Trace Origins Of Buried Loot
July 28, 2008
U.S. customs broker and owner of F.C. Felhaber & Co, Franz Felhaber, has been changing decomposing, nearly unrecognizable USD 100 bills from the 1970s and 1980s in U.S. banks. Authorities say that for the past few years he and his family have popped in and out of U.S. banks, looking to change about USD 20 million in buried treasure for clean cash. The money is always the same but stories about its origin always change. At times he says he has no idea where the money came from, but he is always certain it has nothing to do with drugs.
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Health & Science
Brazil, Mexico Lead Latin America In HIV Infections
July 29, 2008
The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said that Brazil and Mexico continue to be the countries with the most people infected with HIV in Latin America. In the region as a whole, excluding the Caribbean, 140,000 new cases of the disease were reported last year, according to UNAIDS’ “2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic.” There currently are 730,000 infected Brazilians and 200,000 Mexicans. Experts say that 40% of cases of children and adolescents under 15 that are infected with HIV in Mexico are not diagnosed.
World Leaders, HIV/Aids Experts Gather In Mexico City
July 28, 2008
The XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) will take place in Mexico City (DF) from 3 to 8 August 2008 and is expected to draw around 25,000 participants from across the globe, including many world-renowned leaders and experts in their field. AIDS 2008 is convened by the International AIDS Society (IAS), the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals and calls for greater efforts to combat the disease and find a cure. Local partners include the Federal Government of Mexico, the Government of Mexico City and local scientific and community leadership. It is the first time the biennial conference is held in Latin America.
President Calderon Lifts Plant Requirement For AIDS Drug Companies
August 3, 2008
On the day of the opening ceremonies of the XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) in Mexico City, President Calderon announced his plans to lift an Economy Ministry (SE) requirement that pharmaceutical companies operating in Mexico must have a manufacturing plant in the country in order to use or sell generic versions of their lifesaving AIDS and other drugs in Mexico; the new policy is to take effect immediately.
Merck To Sell Mexico Reduced-Price AIDS Drugs
August 1, 2008
Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said pharmaceutical company Merck has agreed to sell Mexico reduced-price AIDS drugs. Cordova said that Merck will sell Mexico Stocrin and Isentress with discounts of up to 40%. Cordova said that about 22,000 HIV positive patients being treated by the Health Ministry (SSA) take Stocrin, a first-line AIDS medication made by Merck, and some 200 patients take Isentress, a new type of HIV drug.
Former Mexican Health Minister Elected Dean For Harvard Public Health Faculty
August 1, 2008
Harvard University has named former Mexican Health Minister Julio Frenck Dean at the university’s Public Health Faculty. Frenck will take current Dean Barry Bloom’s place starting January 2009. Frenck is a surgeon who graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and has a masters degree in Public Health by the University of Michigan.
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Arts & Culture
Mexico Claims Artifacts Held In Germany
July 29, 2008
Authorities say about 700 artifacts from a private collection seized in Germany are Mexican and should be returned. Archaeological experts have examined photographs of artifacts linked to Costa Rican collector Leonardo Augustus Patterson. They say about half the collection of masks, jewelry and statues seized in April are genuine pre-Hispanic artifacts. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said that the pieces were illegally excavated in Mexico and asked that they be returned.
Traces Of Chocolate Found In Mexican Vase From 1750 B.C.
July 30, 2008
The National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH) said that Mexican archaeologists found traces of chocolate in a 3,750-year-old vase, indicating that this substance was consumed much earlier than what had previously been believed. Based on INAH and Yale university researchers say that cacao (whose seeds are used to make chocolate) was consumed in the so-called formative period (1900-900 B.C.) of Mesoamerican civilization, eight centuries earlier than what had previously been believed.
UNAM Is Place 51 In World’s Best Universities Ranking
July 30, 2008
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) ranked 51 in the World’s best universities ranking by Spain’s Superior Counsel of Scientific Research. The universities are evaluated by the educational content as well as by their scientific and cultural productions on the internet. According to the results, which are published every 6 months, UNAM climbed 8 positions and reached the 51st place after it had ranked 59 in January. UNAM ranked first among Latin American universities.
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