Bloomberg Línea — The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, said Wednesday that “the great risk” for Argentina is inflation, while maintaining that the organization has a “common objective” with Buenos Aires, which is “to help the people of Argentina”.
Globant (GLOB) announced Wednesday that it will acquire GeneXus, a Uruguayan company founded in 1988 that developed a platform that works with artificial intelligence to create, develop and maintain solutions to run on all types of devices and is used by 1,700 companies in Latin America and Asia. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
On the stock markets, Colombia’s COLCAP index saw the best performance in the region, after a rally in the last hours of trading. Shares in the financial and energy sectors accounted for the Colombian stock market’s rise. Shares of Bancolombia (BCOLO), Canacol Energy (CNEC) and Ecopetrol (ECOPETL) were among the best performers on Wednesday.
Following is a roundup of Wednesday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, said Wednesday that “the great risk” for Argentina is inflation, while maintaining that the organization has a “common objective” with Buenos Aires, which is “to help the people of Argentina”.
- Economy Minister Martín Guzmán participated in the forum of ministers and presidents of Central Banks of the G20, and sought to highlight the improvements of the Argentine economy in 2021.
Brazil:
- Central Bank officials go to their next monetary policy meeting without updated information on the credit market, as well as the country’s fiscal and external positions, according to striking officials of the institution, who have suspended the publication of economic data since the end of March.
Chile:
- Chile will experience several more quarters with declines in economic activity, according to the president of the Central Bank, Rosanna Costa, who was speaking in an online event on Wednesday from the United States. She said high domestic uncertainty is weighing on the country’s exchange rate, consumption and investment.
Costa Rica:
- In the first quarter of the year, which coincides with Costa Rica’s high season, the country saw a 63% recovery in tourism arrivals compared with the same period of 2019, with a total of 631,609 tourists visiting the country.
Ecuador:
- State oil company Petroecuador received seven bids in total to sell 11.88 million barrels of oil, for which it expects to obtain around $1.1 billion. Of the total, 7.92 million barrels of Oriente crude were awarded to Marathon and 3.96 million barrels of Napo crude to Petroperú, which offered a better differential for the oil.
Mexico:
- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has threatened criminal lawsuits against companies participating in the self-supply model in Mexico’s electric power sector, after the Supreme Court validated his proposed reforms to the country’s electricity industry law.
Panama:
- In a meeting that lasted about an hour, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo urged U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to review the current tariff relief schedule set out in the free trade agreement between both nations, for products such as rice, milk, cheese and chicken and pork.
Peru:
- Mining company MMG reported before the Hong Kong Stock Exchange positive results for the first quarter of this 2022 in its Las Bambas operation, despite a blockade at the end of January that lasted for 18 days.
Uruguay:
- Globant announced Wednesday that it will acquire GeneXus, a Uruguayan company founded in 1988 that developed a platform that works with artificial intelligence to create, develop and maintain solutions to run on all types of devices and is used by 1,700 companies in Latin America and Asia. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
Venezuela:
- Argentine President Alberto Fernández has proposed resuming talks with the administration of Nicolás Maduro to reestablish diplomatic relations. Venezuela and Argentina broke off diplomatic relations in 2019, after former president Mauricio Macri’s government recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
