Posts tagged Chile
New Personal Safety Concerns in Latin America
Nov 1st
I just read an article in the Nuevo Herald of Miami wherein it noted that a recent opinion survey of Panamanian residents was taken and the results surprised me. Out of 1,000 respondents slightly more than 70% have a strong fear of falling prey to street crime. Only 28% of those surveyed have little or no fear of it. Furthermore, 41% feel a strong fear of street crime at night when they return to their homes or when walking in the streets and 31% admit a moderate fear. More >
Latin Americans Have Better Perception of U.S.
Jul 23rd
Finally, a swing to reasonableness, it appears, about how the U.S. is perceived in the region. A recent study completed by LatinBarometer (LatinoBarómetro) 2010 based in Santiago, Chile indicated that 64% of Latin Americans believe that the United States has a positive influence in the region. I do not know how long this sentiment will last, but I hope it is not transitory. Frankly, I am bored of the more than occasional trite, Leftist-woe-is-us discourse proffered by many Latin Americans about how the U.S. is the Grinch and for 200 years has consistently stolen their Christmas. I am not blind to past errors or even the over-reaching, but let’s have a rational discussion. (For an eloquent book describing and debunking the populist counter-productive line of thought and the people that get hooked on it, an easy read is Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot.) More >
Competition for Parque Arauco Office Towers Shows Confidence in Chilean Economy
May 4th
Interesting investment news came out of Chile last week. It is not related to the earthquake and the physical damage occasioned on that industrious people; it shows the strong confidence that investors still have in Chile’s economic stability so soon after that destructive event.
Two major office towers being developed in the high profile Parque Arauco (located along Cerro Colorado street in Las Condes) were aggressively fought over by foreign investors (Kanam Grund and Union Investment in particular, two of the largest European real estate investment funds active in Latin America) and local investment funds. It appears that Celfin, a significant Chilean home-grown fund that has a register full of cash, will take the prize…or prizes as it were, having outbid the competition. The Parque Arauco developers invested approximately US$40 million in the construction of these two office buildings and the word is that the final negotiated sale price is approximately 1.5 million UF (currently about US$60 million). The Torres del Parque are already more than 70% leased. Of the 26,000 m2 of rentable area, only about 6,500 m2 are vacant. More >
