Peru president closes border with Ecuador due unrest

Peruvian President Alan García has ordered the immediate closure of the nation's border with neighboring Ecuador, where unrest erupted with troops taking control of the main airport.

"I'm going to order that our borders are closed right now and that all trade on the northern border is halted until President Correa's authority is duly restored and resolved," Garcia said.

The Peruvian leader said foreign ministers from across South America would try to travel to Ecuador in a bid to resolve the conflict.

His Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa claimed Thursday a police mutiny that was causing chaos in the South American country was an attempted coup.

Most police and some rank-and-file military officers were refusing to obey orders in a large part of Ecuador and had taken control of the largest police barracks in the capital and the airport.

The mutiny spread quickly to the rest of Ecuador. Several roads were blocked, local and international flights were cancelled and banks closed as police officers left their positions on traffic patrol, streets, airports and other key sites, dpa reported.

Correa was in hospital after being pushed around and suffering from the effects of tear gas during his visit to the centre of the spreading police mutiny.

"This is a coup attempt by the opposition and some police officers," he told Ecuadorian television from hospital. He claimed people were trying to break into his hospital room even as he spoke.

Correa said the police protest was "unacceptable and unjustified," and he vowed not to turn back in his reform of Ecuadorian institutions.

The security forces were protesting a new law passed on Tuesday by the National Assembly, which according to officers eliminates decorations, bonuses and other benefits. The government insists that these are not being scrapped, but only allocated differently.

Police spokesman Florencio Ruiz, escorted by police generals, called upon Correa to show his "sensitivity" in responding to the demands of police and military officers. He stressed that the demands are not political and do not seek to topple Correa, although he admitted that "there are parties who could take advantage" of the protest.

Ruiz read out demands, asking that benefits be reinstated and that police social security remain as it is now. And he asked colleagues in the provinces to return to their positions to avoid "a bloodbath."

Correa blamed the uprising on the opposition.

"Those who cannot win at the polls, they conspire," he said.

"They can pick the flowers, but they cannot prevent the arrival of spring," he said of critics.

General Luis Gonzalez, chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces, had stressed earlier that the military remains "at the orders of their commander in chief, President Rafael Correa."

"The rule of law will prevail in Ecuador," Gonzalez said.

Around 1,000 police officers refused to obey orders beginning at 7 am (1200 GMT) and took control of the Quito Regiment, the largest police facility in the Ecuadorian capital.

President Correa visited the regiment, but failed to talk to the rebellious officers. He left with the warning that he will not take "a single step back."

"If they want to kill me, let them kill me," Correa said, baring his chest to show he had no bulletproof gear.

Bucketfuls of water were thrown on Correa as he left, and he was pushed around as he tried to make his way out through a crowd. His bodyguards used tear gas to facilitate his exit.

Correa underwent surgery on his knee last week, and had a prosthesis implanted. Early Thursday he lost his crutch, his leg was bent and he choked on the tear gas that his bodyguards needed to use to get him out, so he needed hospital treatment.

However, he said he was feeling well and was getting ready to return to the presidential palace, he said.

Military officers took over the runway at Quito's international airport. They went as far as the hangar, which holds the presidential helicopter and plane, to prevent Correa from leaving.

The Education Ministry ordered the suspension of lessons at all schools in Quito "until further notice."

Shops also started to close, for fear of looting and other violence. This is the first such crisis in unstable Ecuador since Correa took office in 2007. (Andina)

Peru Raises Reserve Requirement to Tame Credit Growth

Peru will increase reserve requirements for lenders beginning Oct. 1 to temper surging growth in credit, the central bank said today.

The minimum legal reserve mandate will rise to 9 percent of lenders’ loan portfolios from 8.5 percent, for both soles and foreign currency, the bank said in an e-mailed statement. The marginal requirement will rise to 25 percent from 15 percent for soles and to 55 percent from 50 percent for foreign currency.

The central bank has raised its benchmark lending rate and reserve requirements five times each since May as policy makers said a stronger-than-expected rebound in domestic demand threatened to spark inflationary pressures. Bank lending rose 19 percent last month from a year earlier, the fastest annual growth since April 2009, bank association Asbanc said last week.

“With the increase in the reference rate and reserve requirements the central bank is withdrawing monetary stimulus to achieve its inflation target,” the central bank said.

Annual inflation may accelerate 2.5 percent to 3 percent this year, from 2.3 percent in August, putting it close to the upper end of the bank’s target range of 1 percent to 3 percent, the bank said this month.

Last month, policy makers raised the marginal reserve requirement for foreign banks to 120 percent of their short-term sol deposits in the Andean country, to deter speculative capital inflows after the sol surged to a two-year high.

The sol has gained 12 percent against the U.S. dollar since the end of 2008.

Bloomberg - John Quigley

To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net

Peru, Chile, Colombia stock exchanges to integrate Nov 22

Integrated Peruvian, Chilean and Colombian stock-exchange operations are set to begin November 22, said the president of Peru's stock exchange on Tuesday.

Roberto Hoyle said in a statement that the integration would attract investors and increase competitiveness, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"The integration will be an important step to increasing attractiveness and competitiveness, as well as greater capital flows," said Hoyle.

A spokeswoman for the Lima exchange added that the November 22 date represents the first phase of the integration, but confirmed that, as of that date, investors in Lima would be able to buy Chilean and Colombian company shares via the Lima exchange. (Andina)

Venezuela’s Opposition Pushes Back Chavez in Vote

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suffered his worst setback at the ballot box since taking office in 1999, losing his two-thirds majority in congress as support for his rule wanes before 2012 presidential election.

Opposition candidates, who boycotted the 2005 congressional race, secured 52 percent of the popular vote in yesterday’s legislative election, giving them enough seats to force Chavez to negotiate on key decisions, said Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, head of the Democratic Unity Table alliance.

Chavez said his party won 98 of 165 seats, giving his allies an “ample majority,” in comments sent via the Twitter social networking site. The National Electoral Council said Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV, won at least 90 seats at 2 a.m. today. Election officials didn’t provide a tally of the overall vote or the final seat count.

Chavez’s party, while securing a majority in the National Assembly after redrawing electoral districts, fell short of the 110-seat threshold needed to be given decree powers, approve the national budget and pass new laws single-handedly. Opposition candidates won 61 seats and non-aligned indigenous candidates won 3 seats, according to the council.

“This is a tremendous defeat of the Bolivarian project,” said Friedrich Welsch, a political analyst at the Simon Bolivar University in Caracas. “Chavez built his campaign on a vote of confidence in his socialist project and the majority of the people gave their votes to forces opposed to it.”

Biggest Bond Gain

Venezuela’s bonds posted the biggest gain in emerging markets today. The extra yield investors demand to own Venezuelan bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries fell 32 basis points, or 0.32 percentage point, to 11.44 percent at 1:12 p.m. New York time, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI+ index. The broader EMBI+ index rose 2 basis points to 2.84 percent.

The yield on the nation’s benchmark 9.25 percent dollar bond due 2027 fell 60 basis points to 13.34 percent, according to JPMorgan. That’s its biggest decline since June 10. The bond’s price jumped 3 cents on the dollar to 72.75 cents.

The results are “positive” and “potentially limit Chavez’s ability to push through unfriendly market policies,” Eduardo Suarez, an emerging-markets strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto, wrote in a report today.

Electoral Goals

Opposition candidates, whose boycott in 2005 on concerns of possible fraud handed Chavez near-absolute control of the congress, took advantage of voter discontent with rising crime and 30 percent inflation to make gains. Venezuelans are increasingly dissatisfied with the government’s management of the economy, now in its second year of recession, analysts said.

Chavez may seek to undermine the new assembly before it takes office in January, Bank of America Corp. said in a report today.

“Looking toward the 2012 presidential election, the opposition has a greater argument that Chavez is out of touch with the country and Chavez will need to focus on gaining broader support,” the report said.

Aristobulo Isturiz, the campaign manager for Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, said the government party didn’t reach its electoral goals.

“We were aiming for 110 deputies, which was not reached by any political party,” Isturiz told supporters waving red flags outside the presidential palace.

Chavez on Twitter

Chavez called yesterday’s results a victory for his Bolivarian socialist revolution.

“We’ve obtained a solid victory, sufficient to continue deepening Bolivarian and democratic socialism,” he said in a message on his Twitter account. “We must continue strengthening the revolution. Another victory for the people.”

In 2007, Chavez suffered his only electoral defeat since taking office when voters rejected by 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent a referendum to change 69 articles of the constitution.

“The popular victory is likely to reenergize the ranks of the opposition and perhaps consolidate the unity we have seen in this election,” Alberto Ramos, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, wrote in a report today. He said Chavez might boost spending and take steps to undermine key opposition figures to win a third six-year term in 2012.

Gerrymandering

Chavez retained control of the National Assembly after redrawing electoral districts last year to favor rural areas where he’s more popular, analysts said.

The changes mean that 20,000 people in pro-Chavez Amazonas state elected a single lawmaker, giving them the same representation as 350,000 people in the opposition-controlled capital of Caracas.

More than 66 percent of Venezuela’s 17 million registered voters cast ballots. That compares with 61 percent in 2007 and 70 percent in another referendum to lift presidential term limits in 2009.

Venezuela’s flailing economy, the fastest inflation rate among 78 economies tracked by Bloomberg and sporadic blackouts from underinvestment in the nation’s power grid have caused Chavez’s approval ratings to fall below 50 percent this year.

A drop in foreign investment due to nationalizations and reduced government income from lower oil prices caused the economy to shrink 3.5 percent in the first half of 2010 while the rest of South America rebounded from the global financial crisis.

‘Face of Fascism’

In a reflection of the country’s polarized political climate, opposition supporters heckled Finance Minister Jorge Giordani as he cast his vote in the capital. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez was met by protesters banging pots and pans.

“Take your economic policies to Cuba!” a group of 15 Chavez opponents shouted to Giordani as he left the voting center in Santa Monica, a middle-class neighborhood in Caracas. Giordani called his opponents “the face of fascism.”

Also hurting the government’s approval rating are homicides that have more than tripled since Chavez came to power to a record 16,047 last year from 4,550 in 1998, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, a Caracas-based research group.

Still, the 56-year-old former paratrooper remains revered among many poor Venezuelans who benefit from free health clinics and subsidized food markets. As oil rose to about $76 a barrel Sept. 24 from about $12 when Chavez took power in 1999, poverty has fallen by half to 24 percent in 2009, government data show.

“If we don’t continue, the opposition will take everything away,” said Carmen Carmona, a 48-year-old social worker, outside a polling station in the Caracas slum of Petare with a group of red-shirted female supporters of Chavez.

Cheap Loans

The president traveled across the country during the election campaign promising cheap loans for household appliances and blaming the opposition for alleged sabotage that has led to the blackouts and deteriorating public services.

The current congress has until Jan. 5 to pass measures benefitting the government. Among the legislation it may consider is a constitutional change giving greater power to community councils beholden to Chavez, said Luis Vicente Leon, director of the Datanalisis polling firm.

“We’re heading to a situation of further radicalization,” Leon said in an interview before yesterday’s vote. “Chavez has several elements at his disposal to ride out any result.”

Bloomberg - Charlie Devereux and Corina Rodriguez Pons

To contact the reporters on this story: Charlie Devereux in Caracas at cdevereux3@bloomberg.net; Corina Rodriguez-Pons in Caracas at crpons@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net

Bolivia Prices May Rise Less Than Bank’s Forecast, Arce Says

Bolivian inflation may quicken less than the central bank’s 2010 forecast as a surge in consumer prices last month was driven by a temporary supply shock due to extreme weather, Finance Minister Luis Arce said.

Since ending 2009 at 0.3 percent, consumer prices in the $17 billion economy quickened in the first half of 2010 before a surge in July and August accelerated the annual rate up to 2.6 percent. Last month’s 1.06 percent price rise was the biggest increase since June 2008, the government reported Sept 3.

The central bank, which forecast 4.5 percent inflation, plus or minus 1 percentage point, in its January Monetary Policy Report, in July trimmed that to 4 percent. Arce said he is confident inflation will not rise above 4 percent in 2010.

“I’m looking at 3 percent to 3.5 percent, so it will be less than the central bank’s forecast,” Arce, 46, said in an interview in his office in La Paz yesterday.

Arce said that widespread drought, subsequent wildfires and an unusually cold June and July slashed harvests and farm output in eastern parts of Bolivia. In the country’s main mining districts around Potosi, a nearly three-week-long protest last month blocked roads and crippled production, adding momentum to inflation in the region.

“We don’t see these problems repeating,” Arce said. “Last month was a peculiar month. It was an outlier.”

Bolivian monthly inflation may ease in September in comparison to August, Arce said.

Bolivia’s annual inflation was 11.85 percent in 2008.

Growth Target

While lowering his estimate for inflation this year, Arce said the government also cut its 2010 economic growth estimate to 4 percent from 4.5 percent, Arce said.

The new 4 percent figure is conservative, Arce said, adding that he is “very confident” it will be reached in 2010.

The land-locked country’s 3.3 percent GDP growth in 2009 was one of the highest among Western Hemisphere nations tracked in the International Monetary Fund’s April 2010 report.

Bolivia is now considering raising 2010 public investment to $2.1 billion from $1.8 billion to spur growth, he said.

“If we can invest in these last four months, we may be able to reach the 4.5 percent figure we projected earlier,” the minister said.

Arce, who joined the central bank in 1987, received a degree in economics from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in Bolivia and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Warwick in England.

He became Bolivia’s finance minister in 2006 under President Evo Morales.

Bonds

Bolivia plans its first international bond sale in more than 70 years in June or July 2011, Arce said.

Arce said the Corporacion Andina de Fomento, the Andean development lender, is advising Bolivia on issuing bonds. Bolivia cannot yet disclose the size of the offering, Arce said.

“We would like to show the world that we are able to issue bonds, that we are a trustworthy country and a sustainable growth country,” Arce said.

Bolivia is planning to tap the international market as a global economic rebound increases demand for high-yielding assets. The Andean country may use the bonds to help finance a 5-year, $17 billion dollar industrialization plan, Arce said.

Standard & Poor’s raised Bolivia’s foreign-currency rating to B from B- in May and said the outlook is positive.

“The positive outlook reflects the country’s resilient economy and prudent fiscal policy,” S&P said in the statement. “The Bolivian economy depends highly on external conditions and has performed better than most of its regional peers.”

‘Reversing’ Neo-Liberalism

Bolivia’s plans to nationalize industries formerly held by the state will not affect enterprises initiated as private industries, Arce said.

“We are going to nationalize what belonged to the state,” Arce said. “But private investment from the origin will be respected under the constitution.”

In early September, Morales nationalized a 33 percent stake in a Bolivian cement producer, taking the shares away from Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento, or Soboce.

Soboce paid more than 180 million Bolivianos ($25.6 million) for a third of Fancesa’s stock when the company was privatized in 1999, according to statements from the company.

“We are reversing the neo-liberalism model,” Arce said.

In May, Morales ordered the nationalization of three generating utilities and an electric distribution company.

The three power generators were controlled until 1994 by the state-run Empresa Nacional de Electricidad.

Morales, who was first elected in 2005, has repeatedly called for increased government control over the country’s natural resources and utilities.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Shahriari in La Paz at sshahriari@bloomberg.net

Bloomberg - Sara Shahriari

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net

Colombia's GDP Expanded Less-Than-Expected 4.5% in Second Quarter vs 2009

Colombia’s economy expanded at the fastest pace since 2007 in the second quarter as the global credit crunch eased and local demand for household goods boosted manufacturing.

Gross domestic product rose 4.5 percent from a year ago, lower than the 5.5 percent median forecast from 31 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The economy grew 1 percent from the prior quarter, according to the statistics agency.

“Domestic demand is a really strong component driving the economy right now,” said Andres Jimenez, international sales director at Interbolsa SA, Colombia’s biggest brokerage. “People feel confident that the economy is growing, that they have money in their pockets, and so they are spending.”

Annual growth was led by a 14.9 percent pickup in mining activity, 8.4 percent in manufacturing, and 4.2 percent in transport and communications. Construction fell 5.6 percent.

President Juan Manuel Santos, who took office Aug. 7, has pledged to increase spending on public works such as roads and bridges to help accelerate annual economic growth to 6 percent a year and create 2.4 million jobs.

“Investors may begin to ask how long growth can be maintained like this without causing inflationary pressure,” said Jimena Zuniga, a Latin America economist at Barclay’s Plc in New York. “We think inflation will not put the central bank against the wall soon. Growth will remain solid, but we think that the quarters of highest sequential growth are behind us.”

Inflation Estimates

The central bank has said inflation this year is in line with its estimate of 2 percent to 4 percent, although it may increase next year. Annual inflation rose 2.31 percent in August and 0.11 percent from the previous month.

“It’s important the central bank starts to consider economic growth at 5.5 percent for next year in its analysis, because that is inflationary growth, so we could see an increase in interest rates next year,” said Citigroup Inc. economist Munir Jalil in Bogota.

The central bank meets tomorrow to decide on the benchmark lending rate. All 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the board to leave the overnight rate at a record low of 3 percent for a fifth month.

The yield on Colombia’s benchmark 11 percent bonds due July 2020 fell 0.028 percentage point to 7.265 at 1:15 p.m. New York time, according to Colombia’s stock exchange.

The peso fell 0.5 percent to 1,811.73 per dollar from 1,803.18 yesterday.

Bloomberg - Helen Murphy and Heather Walsh

To contact the reporters on this story: Helen Murphy in Bogota at Hmurphy1@bloomberg.net; Heather Walsh in Bogota at hlwalsh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net

Brazil mission visits Peru to search for strategic partners in health sector

A mission of 16 Brazilian companies will arrive in Peru for the Brazil-Peru business round table of medical and dental care equipment to be held on September 27, informed Tuesday the Brazilian Medical Devices Manufacturers Association (Abimo).

The mission's goal is to search for Peruvian partners in the health sector, said the mission Coordinator Tarso Evangelista.

Peru is, so far, the eighth most important country for the medical and dental care industry and is expected to stand at better places in the comming years.

“Peru has become one of the main countries in the region providing qualified health services at competitive prices. Brazilian industry can help to better supply the increasing demand of equipments with new trade agreements,” Evangelista stated.

The 16 companies associated to Abimo will arrive in Peru as a first step on trade missions, expecting to contact around 60 Peruvian companies and close businesses worth US$900,000 until next year.

Brazilian companies that will participate in the business roundtable export their products to more than 30 countries in Europe and Latin America. (Andina)

Travel Mart Latin America sees deals worth US$400 mln this year

The Annual Travel Mart Latin America (TMLA) 2010, which runs its 34th edition this week, expects to close deals worth up to US$400 million, the organizing company William H. Coleman estimated Monday.

“It is difficult to predict sales as they are made in private transactions; however, this year figures are expected to surpass the previous editions,” said President and CEO of William H. Coleman, Irma Coleman.

This is mainly due to the entry of new foreign buyers willing to make contact with national and foreign sellers.

Coleman revealed that some 90 buyers will attend TMLA for the first time and are eager to establish new contacts in the sector.

   

The 34th Annual TravelMart Latin America hits Lima, September 22-24, attracting over 250 tour operators/buyers delegates, 250 suppliers organizations, international press and media, and VIP's totaling almost 1,002 delegates from 45 countries.

Twelve journalists from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Argentina and Costa Rica, will make a wide coverage of the TMLA 2010, reported Peru’s Hotel Society (SHP).

SHP General Manager, Tibisay Monsalve, said these journalists are very interested in Peru’s current economic development, its rich cuisine and biodiversity.

The group will have the opportunity to visit the main tourist attractions of Lima and Callao during their stay in the capital city of Peru.

At the end of the event, the international media will visit the cities of Chiclayo (Lambayeque), Trujillo (La Libertad) and Iquitos (Loreto).

The TMLA 2010 opening ceremony will be held on September 22 at the headquarters of the Museo Rafael Larco in Pueblo Libre and two days later, while the closing ceremony will take place at the San Francisco Church in downtown Lima.

Almost 8,000 business appointments are expected to be pre-scheduled for this year’s TravelMart Latin America, which attendance has traditionally been sold out and that is expected to occur again this year.

TMLA, inaugurated in 1978, is the most important business development event of the year for Latin America Tourism, attended by buyers of Tourism Products and Services from global markets, and suppliers" representing every country in the region. (Andina)

Peru Plans to Limit ’10, ’11 Outlays, Benavides Says

Peru’s government will seek to cut spending this year and next to reduce its fiscal deficit and avoid fueling inflation, Finance Minister Ismael Benavides, who was sworn in this week, told Radioprogramas.

The government will seek a smaller deficit this year than the current target of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, and curtail spending plans for next year, Benavides told the Lima- based radio station in an interview. The government must bolster its finances amid uncertainty about the global economic recovery, he said.

“There has to be a much more prudent and tighter management of public spending,” Benavides said. “Elements of the 2007 to 2008 crisis haven’t been overcome.”

Peru tapped three years of fiscal surplus to implement an economic stimulus plan in 2009 and 2010 after the global recession curbed demand for the Andean country’s metals, fishmeal and natural gas. The government has begun to temper spending growth after a rebound in private investment pushed the economy to its fastest growth since 2008 in the second quarter.

Benavides said the government will revise the proposed 2011 budget, which was presented to Congress this month by his predecessor Mercedes Araoz. The budget sought an 8 percent increase in spending from this year, while reducing the fiscal deficit to 1 percent.

“We’re going to look with Congress at necessary adjustments and at the same time try to introduce elements that will allow greater control of fiscal spending,” Benavides said.

South America’s sixth-largest economy is no longer in danger of overheating after five interest rate increases and slower growth in public spending, central bank President Julio Velarde said yesterday.

Economic growth decelerated to 9.1 percent in July from a year earlier, compared with 11.9 percent in June, as the government tempered the pace of spending on goods and services and investment in public works.

Bloomberg

To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.net

USA Today: Revenues from increased trade spurs Peru’s social development, economic growth

Revenues from increased trade are being put to good use in Peru as funding for rural areas has been one of the pillars of the country's increasingly progressive social development and solid economic base, as well as a smart diversification strategy, said USA Today.

Greater emphasis on education has had a great impact on Peruvians, while huge improvements in logistics infrastructure are helping grow the economy more smoothly.

The Port of Callao is one of the largest ports in South America, and the Jorge Chavez Airport was ranked the continent’s best in 2005, 2009, and 2010, the US daily said in an article entitled "Peru: Latin America's fastest growing economy".

USA Today affirms that consistency and coherency possibly best describe the Peruvian government’s economic policies over the past 15 years.

“By opening up to the world, introducing investment-friendly and fiscally-sound reforms, promoting its quality exports, and investing in infrastructure development, Peru has achieved the economic growth it had previously only dreamed of”, it said.

The daily stated that nothing highlights Peru’s efforts as much as the signing of free-trade agreements in recent years. The treaties are boosting exports, attracting FDI, and spurring new business development.

In March 2010, a pact was signed with the EU, and a new agreement with the U.S. just came into effect in February. Peru has also signed trade agreements with China, Canada, Korea, and Singapore, among others.

“Peru represents a successful model in Latin America that stands out not only for its results, but also for being a benchmark of modern democracy,” President Alan Garcia Perez was quoted as saying by the USA Today.

The pacts are vital to expanding the markets where Peruvian businesses can sell their goods, yet no market is more important for Peru than the U.S.

“The US is our most important trade partner. The FTAs are an important tool that allow us to compete and to gain entry to markets such as the 300 million consumers in America,” Former Prime Minister Javier Velasquez was quoted as saying too.

Peru's economic growth, along with the institutional and macroeconomic stability that the government has provided, will make sure the country’s success continues, said the Former Prime Minister.

“Peru is leading economic growth in Latin America, and has been for many months. Our economy has grown continuously for the past 90 months and it will continue to do so. That’s the best guarantee for any investment,” Velasquez said.

The country is fortunate in that it does not depend entirely on others for its economic wellbeing as its abundant and diverse natural resources are a great source of wealth, and also provide many opportunities for growth in the future.

“Peru will be the third-biggest mining country in the world in short term. Peru has the world’s richest fishing sea because of the cold current running through the ocean nearby," Garcia said.

It has a huge amount of hydropower potential from rivers that flow from the Andes to the Amazon plain and Peru has resources such as gas that have just begun to be explored, he added.

Local businesses are actively and successfully increasing the range of products they export, to textiles, machinery and more processed foods, a process that is also spurring new job creation.

Even Former US Ambassador to Peru Michael McKinley praised Peru’s success in promoting economic growth and poverty reduction last July, noting that the country will have one of the fastest expanding economies this year, the dialy noted. (Andina)