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ECONOMIC BRIEFINGS
Information provided by the Mexico Trade Commission-ProMexico’s
New York Office.
Mexico’s economy will keep growing at moderate to
strong pace
According to The Conference Board, an American
private group devoted to economic analysis, the
Mexican economy is very likely to keep growing at a
moderate to strong pace. The Conference Board has
estimated this based on economic indicators for
Mexico corresponding to December 2007. In a press
release, it was announced that the anticipated index
for Mexico dropped 0.2%, while the coincidental
index suffered no changes last December. “Recent
behavior both by the anticipated index and the
coincidental index up to now, suggest that it is
very likely that the economy will continue to grow
at a moderate to strong pace in the short term”.
The Conference Board has said that the growth rate
of the anticipated index during the six month term
which finished last December remained 3.9% (around
an 8% annual rate), more or less the same as the
average growth rate in mid 2007. It points out that
after a slight drop in the second half of 2006; the
anticipated index has grown at a constant pace since
the end of the first quarter of 2007.
US$2.638 billion to be
invested in industrial parks in Mexico
Industrial park developers announced that they will
invest $2.638 billion U.S. dollars during 2008 in
reserves, facilities expansion, urbanization and
construction of industrial parks in Mexico.
According to Claudia Avila Conelly, General Director
of Mexican Industrial Parks Association (Asociación
Mexicana de Parques Industriales (AMPIP), this
funding is 70% higher than the investment made last
year, which amounted to US$1.5 billion.
The trend in the construction of this type of real
estate, she said, will depend on market conditions
and foreign investment arriving in Mexico, even
though she recognizes that the north border has been
a lot more dynamic, especially with the arrival of
anchor companies in suppliers’ parks.
Aerospace industry giant
interested in bringing new business to Mexico
EADS, the conglomerate of companies in the aerospace
and defense industries, is interested in installing
some of their business areas in Mexico, motivating
their suppliers to do the same.
“Mexico has never had such positive conditions to
foster the aeronautics industry. We think this is
the country where we may develop EADS; there are
several projects currently being analyzed, and we
are considering the possibility of manufacturing
some parts in Mexico”, assured Frederic Garcia, EADS
international General Director and President of EADS
Telecom Mexico, while participating in the
International Air and Space Tradeshow 2008 held from
March 31 to April 6 in Santiago, Chile.
GE generates more
employment in Mexico
General Electric Infrastructure Queretaro expanded
its engineering center, specialized in the design of
airplane turbines and ecologic energy generation
turbines. This expansion will generate around 600
jobs for Mexican engineers recently graduated from
different colleges, the Company’s officers said.
Around 1,050 engineers in the aeronautics industry
are currently working in the Queretaro plant.
“This project not only means employment generation,
but also the development of technology in Mexico”,
said President Felipe Calderon in the Center’s
inauguration. Giovanni Aloi Timeuz, Director of GE
Energy in Mexico said that they will focus on making
the space industry evolve. One of their planned
improvements is the new GX turbine, “designed by a
team of more than 120 engineers. The new GX turbine
will achieve a 20% reduction in fuel and is also
less noisy”. Mexico’s aeronautics sector generated
around 20,000 jobs and contributed to Mexico’s
exports with US$2.6 billion.
General Electric is planning to invest US$100
million in Mexico this year.
GM planning to invest
US$900 million in Coahuila
General Motors, the automotive giant, continues to
invest heavily in Coahuila. As one of the company’s
most important production centers in North America,
GM is preparing an investment for an estimated
US$900 million in its Ramos Arizpe Complex.
Because General Motors is planning to offer a new
generation of cars throughout its several brands,
sources say that even if the Ramos Arizpe Complex
recently received a US$500 million investment to
assemble new models, it requires more to update
tools and several other components.
In addition, the Ramos Arizpe Complex will have the
honor of being the first plant in Mexico where a
hybrid vehicle is assembled, namely the Saturn VUE
Green Line, which is a version of the Chevrolet
Captiva in the US market.
US$500 million will be
invested in ethanol for Bio fuels production
The sugar industry could invest more than US$500
million in the installation of ethanol plants in
Mexico before 2010, assured Juan Cortina Gallardo,
Chairman of the Mexican Chamber of Sugar and Alcohol
Industry, (Camara Nacional de la Industria Azucarera
y Alcoholera (CNIAA).
He said that with the Bio-fuels Promotion and
Development Law, published in the Federation’s
Official Gazette last February, conditions are set
to offer certainty to investors. This announcement
comes a few days before the Federal Government
discloses its plan for the industry.
Cortina Gallardo is confident that with the 57 sugar-mills
in Mexico, this industry could be strengthened and
therefore meet fuel demands in the country. He
assured that far from affecting food supply for
human consumption, there is a surplus in sugar
production of over one million 200 thousand tons per
year, which would allow price regulation in the
market. He further disclosed that there is a project
in Sinaloa to produce ethanol from corn; however, he
said there are some other crops with which bio-fuels
production could be increased.
CMHN estimates more than
US$23 billion in investment in Mexico for 2008
The Private Sector is planning to make an investment
for US$23,663 billion in 2008, declared Claudio X.
Gonzalez, Chairman of the Mexican Businessmen
Council, (Consejo Mexicano de Hombres de Negocios (CMHN)
**.
González pointed out that the investment they are
planning for this year will generate direct jobs for
1.3 million people.
Before President Felipe Calderon, Mr. Gonzalez said
that the investment forecasted for 2008 is 2.7 times
larger than that made in 2000, amounting to US$8.5
billion. He also said that CMHN had suspended this
type of estimate during the previous Administration
due to the little trust they had in said previous
Administration.
**CMHN gathers 36 companies and businessmen,
including names such as Emilio Azcarraga, Carlos
Slim Domit, Antonio del Valle, Valentin Diez Morodo,
Gaston Azcarraga, Roberto Hernandez, Bernardo
Quintana, Federico Terrazas, Agustin Franco, Alfredo
Achar, among others.
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