Investment In Industrial Equipment Falls In Uruguay

Investment in machinery and industrial equipment fell 11.3% during the first trimester of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014 according to a report by Uruguay’s Chamber of Industry.

Among imported capital goods the report highlighted decreases in packing machines, roasting ovens for metallurgy and boilers.

“This behavior is in large part aligned with the poor performance of industrial exports [from Uruguay] which has been dragging for some trimesters and worsened at the start of this year” reported Uruguay’s Chamber of Industry.

The Uruguayan sector which showed the greatest increase in investment was food, tobacco, and alcohol where investment increased 87.9% compared the previous year. Excluding this sector Uruguay’s investment fell 24.8%.

The sector’s increased investment came mostly from companies in the milk and beverage sub-sector. Lower than usual levels of investment in this sub-sector during 2014 explains the dramatic increase.

This Uruguayan Business Brief is a summarized translation of a news article that appeared in the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. The original article is available in Spanish here. Uruguay Business Reports translation by Donovan Carberry. For more resources on Uruguayan Business visit the Uruguay Business Reports Store.

Montes del Plata wood pulp plant “should begin any minute”

Store Enso and Araucho’s new wood pulp plant may receive permission from Uruguay’s environmental regulator to begin operations this week.

The plant, which is ready to begin production, expects to receive permission from DINAMA, Uruguay’s environmental regulatory agency, to start operations this week.

An executive at the Finish company Stora Enso, which built the plant in Conchillas with the Chilean company Arauco, said Tuesday that the company expects to receive DINAMA’s approval by the end of the week.

“We could start literally at any moment. We expect very probably to have permission by the end of the week from the environmental authority” said Juan Bueno, the head of the wood pulp division at Stora at a speech to an industry conference.

In April it was announced that work on the plant in Montes del Plata had been finished and that the plant undergone tests and would be operational soon.

The only thing remaining is permission from DINAMA.

This Uruguayan Business Reports news article is a translation of a news article that appeared in the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. The original article is available in Spanish here. Uruguay Business Reports translation by Donovan Carberry.

Uruguay Business Brief: Uruguay’s GDP grew in June 2013

The Ceres leading index, which measures Uruguay’s economic activity ahead of official GDP figures, increased .7% in June. Uruguay’s central bank will release the country’s final June GDP figures in September.

June marks the sixths consecutive month in which the Ceres index has risen.

The rise in GDP was spread throughout the economy; 67% of the variables measured by the Ceres index rose in June. Greater demand for Uruguayan exports and greater domestic demand for consumer goods contributed the most to June’s increase.

This Uruguayan Business Reports news article is a translation of a news article that appeared in the Uruguayan newspaper El Pais. The original article is available in Spanish here. Uruguay Business Reports translation by Donovan Carberry.

Uruguay Business Brief: Head of Montevideo Stock Exchange Resigns

The president of the Montevideo Stock Exchange (BVM), Pablo Montaldo, formally resigned from the position on August 4 because of differences with the stock exchange’s board of directors. Pablo Sitjar, the vice-president of the exchange will take his place.

Montaldo confirmed his resignation yesterday to the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. He did not give any details about the motivation for his departure. A source a the Exchange told El Observador that “the door isn’t closed but it would be very difficult to reconsider his position”.

Montaldo had been president of the exchange since February 2011.

This Uruguayan Business Reports news article is a summarized translation of a news article that appeared in the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. The original article is available in Spanish here. Uruguay Business Reports translation by Donovan Carberry.

Uruguay Business Brief: Antel plans to connect 250,000 homes to fiber optics this year.

Carolina Cosse, the President of Antel, Uruguay’s state telecommunications company, announced Antel plans to add fiber optics connections to 250,000 homes by the end of 2013.

Uruguay’s state telecommunications company plans add fiber optic connections to 250,000 homes in Uruguay

During the public company’s annual review on July 29, Cosse said that because Antel  has already connected 145,000 homes to its fiber optic network the company increased its 2013 goals.

Cosse also dismissed the rumors that she will run as a candidate for the Frente Amplio during the next election cycle.

She said she is not considering a run and added that all her thoughts are on managing the public company as best as possible.

This Uruguayan Business Reports news article is a translation of a news article that appeared in the Uruguayan newspaper El País. The original article is available in Spanish here. Uruguay Business Reports translation by Donovan Carberry.

Uruguay News Brief: Mujica and Rousseff sign agreement to strengthen trade ties

 The pact will help free the circulation of goods and services between the two countries. The text of the pact had been proposed at the Rio+20 summit in June.

Uruguayan President José Mujica and his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rouseff signed a bilateral agreement Tuesday, July 31 in Brasilia to strengthen the circulation of goods and services and strengthen political and commercial ties between the two countries. The text had been drafted in the middle of June during the Río de Janeiro environmental summit Rio+20 but the events in Paraguay delayed the signing.

The areas included in the principal of the agreement are: production integration, science, technology, innovation, communication, infrastructure integration, free trade, free movement of people and energy integration.

The presidents met in the Placio de Planalto in the midst of the ongoing Mercosur summit in Brazil.

 This Uruguay Business Reports news brief is a translation of a news story that appeared in the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. The original news article is available here. Uruguay Business Reports translation by Donovan Carberry.

 

Uruguay Business Briefs 5/11/2012

UTE signs contract with Ventyx to improve power grid

Ventyx, an ABB company, has signed a new contract with Usinas y Terminales Eléctricas UTE in Uruguay to upgrade its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Energy Management System (SCADA/EMS) to Ventyx Network Manager which will allow the UTE to connect wind-generated power sources in future. View the full story here.

HSBC is selling South American assests including those in Uruguay for $400 million

Colombian Banco GNB Sudameris will purchase HSBS’s holding Uruguay as well as Paraguay, Colombia and Peru for $400 million in cash. The sale of HSBC in Uruguay should close by the first quarter of 2013. View the full story here.

French company Total wins Uruguayan offshore oil exporation license

Total has been awarded an exploration licence for block 14 offshore Uruguay, following state-owned company ANCAP‘s second round of bidding. Uruguayan authorities still need to confirm the license. View the full story here.

Standard and Poors revises Uruguay’s banking industry risk down to group 7

On may 8th Standard and Poors revised Uruguay’s Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment from group 8 to 7 reflecting increased confidence in Uruguay’s banking industry. Uruguay was given a 6 on economic risk, and an industry risk score of 7. View the full story from Uruguay Business Reports here.