LATIN AMERICA

Brazil’s footwear companies to promote trade in ChinaEight Brazilian footwear companies would participate in several fashion shows in China to promote their products， Brazil’s Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) said February 16.“The integration between Brazil’s fashion industry and the Chinese market is based on the intelligence， planning and preparation of our companies， and is also the result of their market surveys，” Deborah Rossoni， Apex project manager， said in a statement.The country’s footwear companies will take part in business roundtables with selected Chinese customers. Rossoni said Brazil’s footwear manufacturing industry was seeking new ways in promoting their products and exploring unconventional markets.According to the agency， South America exported more than 1 million pairs of shoes to Hong Kong last year， with a total value of US$21.3 million， while the Brazilian footwear exports to China’s mainland amounted to 103，068 pairs worth US$2.7 million. (Xinhua)Brazil becomes major resource products supplier for GuangdongGuangdong province， the economic powerhouse in southern China， imported more resource products from Brazil， a world’s leading grain and mineral products exporter， to feed its fast growing economy.According to the local customs house， Guangdong’s imports from Brazil rose 11.8 percent year on year to US$1.77 billion in 2010.The total included US$800 million worth of farm produce， up 20.2 percent year on year， US$320 million worth of iron sand and concentrate， up 24.1 percent， US$220 million worth of cattle hide and horse hide， up 17.8 percent.The three categories of resource products accounted for 75.5 percent of Guangdong’s total imports from Brazil.Meanwhile， the province bought US$27.81 million worth of sugar from Brazil in 2010， as against only 35，000 dollars worth in 2009. Its cotton imports from the South American country soared 880 percent year on year to US$10.54 million worth. (Xinhua)Report notes decrease in Colombian cocaine productionColombia， the world’s biggest supplier of cocaine， saw production of the illegal narcotic decline last year amid a government spraying campaign and declining U.S. consumption， according to a report.Colombia’s capacity to produce pure cocaine fell by 10 tons to 270 metric tons in 2009 from a year earlier， and compared with about 700 tons in 2001， the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy said.Cocaine production in Colombia fell to less than half the world’s total last year， when Peru surpassed the nation in cultivation of the drug’s base ingredient， the coca leaf， the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in June.Colombia， backed by more than US$600 million in annual U.S. anti-narcotics aid， has stepped up drug eradication efforts this decade and intensified its campaign against drugfunded guerrilla groups.Cocaine production in neighboring Peru rose last year， to 225 metric tons， while output in Bolivia remained stable at 195 metric tons， according to the statement by the White House drug czar. Europe may be one of the main markets of both nations， the United States said.Cocaine use in the United States is declining even as consumption of other drugs increased in 2009 from two years earlier， according to the statement.As eradication and law enforcement efforts increase， traffickers are diluting the drug， the drug czar said. Purity of cocaine seized in bulk shipments in the United States declined 14 percent from 2006 to 2010. Colombia supplies about 95 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States.The Colombian government says the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is the country’s biggest cocaine trafficker， and dozens of its commanders have been indicted on smuggling charges by the United States. (Bloomberg News)China starts building a US$2.6 billion resort in the BahamasChina has started work on a US$2.6 billion holiday resort in the Bahamas， as the country’s state-owned companies look to expand their economic presence overseas.Billed as the largest project of its kind in the Caribbean， the Baha Mar resort is also being funded by Chinese firms. The resort will include four hotels， a golf course and the Caribbean’s largest casino. It is set to open in December 2014.Export-Import Bank of China will fund the project， and China State Construction will help build it. The tourism industry in the Caribbean was hit by the global financial crisis. But as economies worldwide start to recover， there are signs that the industry is starting to pick up again.The resort project is expected to help accelerate the recovery even further. The developers say that a project of this scale should help create more than 8，000 jobs across all sectors of the hospitality industry. During the construction phase， 4，000 jobs are expected to be taken up by local labor. And once completed， the project may add as much as 10% to the local gross domestic product， the developers claim. (BBC)Shanghai Stock Exchange and Brazil’s Bovespa to linkThe Shanghai Stock Exchange and Brazil’s BMF Bovespa are due to sign an agreement on February 21 that could lead to closer ties between the two. Bovespa said it was looking for cross-listing across both exchanges， although this would not happen immediately.The bourse， which is the world’s fourth largest， is facing increased competition in its domestic market. The agreement is the latest in a series of tie-ups between the world’s leading stock exchanges.Bovespa said the objective of the deal was “to initiate a common discussion about business opportunities and exchange information”.On February 16， NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse formally announced plans to merge a deal that would create the world’s largest stock exchange operator.Earlier this month， the London Stock Exchange and TMX Group， which operates the Toronto Stock Exchange， also agreed a merger deal.The established global exchanges see consolidation as a way to fend off increased competition from new platforms that have eaten into their trading volumes. (BBC)Brazil calls for currency system overhaulThe G20 group of big economies must tackle the causes of global economic imbalances instead of getting bogged down in debating how to measure the problem， said Guido Mantega， Brazil’s finance minister.In an interview with the Financial Times on the eve of the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Paris， he blamed excessive liquidity in developed economies， including the US and Europe， for soaring commodity prices and destabilizing capital flows into emerging economies.He called for a fundamental reform of the international currency system， to expand the use of special drawing rights from the International Monetary Fund as an additional reserve currency， and inclusion of both China’s renminbi and Brazil’s real in the SDR basket， alongside the US dollar， the euro， the yen and the British pound.Warning again of a “currency war” destabilizing the world economy， he said a “new monetary system” must be based on a basket of currencies “that will better express the reality of the world economy today”. The IMF， he added， should transform itself into a “global issuing bank” to underpin the expanded use of SDRs.“What we really have to do is tackle the causes of the imbalances that we face today， imbalances in capital flows， and imbalances of currencies， which affect our trade imbalances，” he said.“It is not so easy to advance towards reform of the international monetary system that has existed for more than 50 years， but at one moment we will have to start. This system is not working any more.“Of course this will take a while. But we cannot blame the inefficiency of the system without moving towards a solution.”He said Brazil had seen an appreciation of its currency， the real， of some 50 per cent between 2006 and 2010. Capital inflows had increased by 50 per cent in 2010 compared with 2009.“It is very difficult to manage，” he said. “One of the reasons is the monetary issuing policies of the US and the UK too， and other European countries. The other reason is that our situation is more solid than in other emerging countries.”He defended Brazil’s in?troduction of capital controls to slow down the inflow， and rejected suggestions from other G20 countries that such controls should be subject to strict new rules.“We have to make it clear that we limit capital flows because we have no other alternative. We would prefer to have capital freedom and a freely floating exchange rate system. We are only using these limits because others are using their exchange rates as a weapon for trade.”Mr Mantega， who first warned of a global “currency war” last year， also spoke out strongly against any moves to regulate commodity markets in order to curb the rise in prices for foodstuffs， oil and minerals.He said there were “multiple causes” for the price rises， including excessive liquidity from developed countries， increasing de?mand from emerging countries， and climate change that had caused drought in Russia and other parts of Europe. Another cause was the subsidy policy of the European Union.“To interfere in this market with some form of price control will end up having the opposite effect to what is intended: to inhibit the supply side，” he said. (Financial Times)