Promoting India Latin America Collaboration

Bargain Wine and the Big Mac Index

August 31st, 2008 Posted in Argentina, Chile, Food and Beverages, Latin America, Uruguay
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Wine Economics:

The McWine Index

Wine prices in the U.S. appear to be heading up – what’s a bargain-seeking shopper to do? That’s the question I was asked by the wine and spirits editor of a major cooking magazine. The answer is to try to make the exchange rate work for you, not against you. The Economist magazine’s Big Mac Index can help.

The Big Mac Index, which appears in the July 26, 2008 issue of the magazine, is a simple indicator of whether a currency is over-valued or under-valued relative to the U.S. dollar based on the price of the ubiquitous fast food entrée. The Euro, for example, is estimated to be overvalued by about 50 percent. A $3.57 Big Mac costs the equivalent of $5.34 (50 percent more) when purchased at Euro-zone prices at the prevailing exchange rate.

The Big Mac index is a crude way of measuring the relative purchasing power of different currencies (to do this properly is a very complicated process), but the burgernomic indicator is generally surprisingly robust. It is pretty closely reflects the perceptions of tourists and traders and is often consistent with the more scientific results of detailed academic studies.

Where are most favorable exchange rates in the wine world for dollar
buyers? The Big Mac index points to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and
especially South Africa.

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Real emerging property markets are to be found in South America

August 23rd, 2008 Posted in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Investing, Tourism, Uruguay
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Many parts of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are without doubt paradise on earth. Low population density, plenty of food and fresh water, unspoiled landscapes. If World Wars III, IV and V break out you can peacefully ride them out sipping wine in your hideaway in the Patagonia or in the Uruguayan countryside.
PropertyWire.com Features | News

‘Brazil is the big brother in terms of property investment and the country is currently experiencing a residential building bonanza, due entirely to its sound fiscal policy and low interest rates. But the other South American countries are showing signs of following in Brazil’s footsteps, particularly Argentina and Uruguay, with economies that are becoming healthier and more stable every day.

‘This will lead to more consumer confidence to invest in these emerging markets. I also expect there will be an overspill from Brazil. Those that perhaps want the lifestyle, weather or beach, but not specifically in Brazil, will look to neighbouring countries.

Argentina is a strong contender to catch up. ‘Argentina is simply the best place in the world right now. Buenos Aires is one of the world’s greatest and most liveable cities,’ said Doug Casey, founder of US based Casey Research, an independent investment research organisation.

Why you might ask? ‘The country is running a massive balance of trade surplus. The government is running a big fiscal surplus. Rich Europeans are piling in since Argentina is ethnically and culturally the most European country in the world,’ he added.

Argentina has beaches, ski centres, mountains to climb, the pampas to ride across, it’s just that not everyone knows it yet. The number of tourists is predicted to increase to around 10 million by 2010.

Nestling between the two is much smaller Uruguay. Recent figures show that Uruguay has 2.3 million tourists a year, almost half descending on Punta del Este. Argentines account for the majority of arrivals in Uruguay however the Brazilian slice of the market is increasing. A rise in European visitors is anticipated.

Ecotourism is also forging forward with many innovations on how to protect Uruguay’s biodiversity and natural resources at the same time as gaining benefit from them. Golf is popular and there are three top notch 18-hole golf courses within the Punta del Este catchment area.

‘Although the concept of foreign purchase of investment property and holiday homes in Uruguay is still quite new, the process of buying property is kept simple by the Uruguayan Government. A foreigner has the same rights and incentives as a Uruguayan national, including access to locally-based finance,’ said Andy Welland, MD of GEM Estates, a specialist in the area.

There are no restrictions on transferring capital in and out of the country and whilst the majority of real estate agents in Uruguay add a minimum of 3% to the selling price for commission, most GEM Estates’ developments have this included in the list price, he added.

It is a similar story across the next border in Chile. It too has a stable economy, positive government and the beaches, mountains and attractions that have the potential to draw a huge number of tourists.

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Santiago, Buenos Aires and Montevideo – The three capital cities of Southern Cone

August 17th, 2008 Posted in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay
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SkyscraperCity

It’s called the Southern Cone area southernmost of the American continent as a large peninsula that defines the southern continent of South America.

It is composed entirely by Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

Demography
The Southern Cone is strict about 60 million and, since the 1950′s, a low birth rate, which is common in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Besides the capitals of these countries Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Santiago de Chile are practically in a geographical parallel. The southern and southeastern Brazil, both frequently included, have about 120 million.

Ethnography
The ethnography of the region varies depending on the same sector, but we can say that in general, the population of European origin, unlike the rest of Latin America, has influenced and influences genetically quite majority in the three Pias, primarily in Argentina (95%) and Uruguay (96%).

Quality of Life

The probably more significant characteristic that distinguishes the Southern Cone is the high average standards and quality of life in relation to other Latin American countries except Canada and the United States.

The high life expectancy, health and access to education (HDI high in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile and southern states of Brazil), the significant and increasing participation in the global economy (Brazil) and the profile of emerging economies area countries, makes the territories covered by Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay macro-region of the americas prosperous.

ed – Nice photos follow

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Likable, affordable – why is Carmenere off the radar?

August 2nd, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, Chile
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SF Chronicle

The grape Carmenere presents a bit of a conundrum. A relatively obscure variety, it is becoming better known – at least in Chile, where it has found a welcome home.

More Carmenere, one of Bordeaux’s six noble grape varieties, is being planted in Chile every year, with vineyards totaling 17,749 acres in 2006, according to Robert Bralow of Wines of Chile, an advocacy group for Chilean wines. This is surprising, given that almost 15 years ago, there was none – until it was discovered that much of what was assumed to be Chilean Merlot was actually Carmenere. (See “Tale of the grape,” Page F4.)

“It’s a great wine to pair with
food. It can go with spicier dishes,” Tavelli says, mentioning the
spicy character that many of the wines have.

And yet, despite the growth, this red grape is still flying under the radar for many wine drinkers. Restaurants and wine shops say they will carry more Carmenere if people request it. That won’t happen unless people first discover it. Thus far, not many have.

While it has much of Merlot’s easy-to-like appeal, Carmenere offers more structure and interest, and contains less tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon. Carmenere also tends more to red fruit aromas and flavors.

“It’s a great wine to pair with
food. It can go with spicier dishes,” Tavelli says, mentioning the
spicy character that many of the wines have.

Popularity: 2% [?]

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Heart of the Hills – Valparaiso, Chile

July 28th, 2008 Posted in Chile, Tourism
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The Boston Globe

While Santiago may be the business-centric capital (which can also be rather conservative and dull) and the country’s soul is reflected up and down its skinny, 2,600-mile strand of deserts, mountains, lakes, and farmland, Valparaíso is Chile’s beating Bohemian heart.

The rest of the country can be buttoned-up, tight, tidy, and even occasionally moneyed, but “Valpo” is none of that; if you have a creative urge to feed, this is your town.

Like San Francisco in its hippie heyday, persistently irregular Valparaíso is driven by the alternative and the artistic – a visual, cultural magnet for Chileans and centuries of adventurous expatriates who discovered the Pacific port city just before or after making their way around Cape Horn. While some world cities have corners that create a unique, authentic flavor, here, that magic is still blissfully spread across the entire town.

With a good dose of outside influence, a geography that forces
creativity, and an atypical reputation that attracts a certain kind of
Chilean, the city created itself on its own unique terms.

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JSW mulls Chilean iron ore import

July 14th, 2008 Posted in Chile, Commodities
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* (en) World MapImage via Wikipedia

Business Standard
JSW Steel, India’s third largest steel maker, will explore the possibility of importing iron ore from its mine in Chile and sell it in the local market.

The Sajjan Jindal-controlled company had secured prospecting licences through its Netherland-based subsidiary to explore and exploit magnetite iron ore deposits in northern Chile’s Atacama region.

“We will explore the possibility of selling Chilean iron ore in India. The Chile plant will act as a natural hedge to iron ore selling in India,” said a top company executive.

Related article

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World’s biggest copper mine to grow even more

April 12th, 2008 Posted in Chile, Commodities, India
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via Reuters
Everything about Escondida is a superlative. It’s the world’s largest copper mine in the world’s largest copper producing country and it is easily visible from outer space.

“I think Escondida is a world-class ore body and probably one of the biggest ever discovered,” said Diego Hernandez, the president for base metals for majority-owner BHP Billiton, the world’s largest diversified miner.

Not satisfied to simply be producing nearly a quarter of Chile’s copper, nearly 1.5 million tonnes last year, Escondida is looking for more, and expects a three-year-old exploration program to extend the existing 40-year mine life with new discoveries soon.

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President of India to begin LatAm tour – 1st foreign visit

April 11th, 2008 Posted in Brazil, Chile, India, Latin America, Mexico
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via Thaindian News
[India's] President Pratibha Patil will begin a three-nation tour April 12, her first foreign visit since she took office in July last year. Patil will visit Brazil, Chile and Mexico during her two-week-long tour. Patil’s visit to the three Latin American nations is expected to strengthen India’s growing trade ties with these countries.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Coastal Fog Tower Harvests Chilean Mist

March 26th, 2008 Posted in Agriculture, Chile, Commodities
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Inhabitat »
This dispatch from the future of skyscraper technology takes us to the northern coast of Chile, where Alberto Fernández and Susana Ortega have conceived of a Fog Tower that absorbs and channels water from its mist enshrouded environs. This pristine helical structure would allow for the development of a sustainable agriculture environment at the edge of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth.

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