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2,200 | <s>[INST] The gloomy mood over the economy is the main reason for the sharp drop [/INST] in popularity of President Carlos Menem, whose approval rating has fallen to 15 per cent, the lowest level since he began his first term in 1989. </s> |
2,201 | <s>[INST] In May last year, before the effects of the recession [/INST] had begun to be felt, Mr Menem won re-election with more than 50 per cent of the vote. </s> |
2,202 | <s>[INST] ___ Document 190 of 400 Poor state that wants to be a big wheel: [/INST] Sally Bowen reports on Bolivia's hopes to become the continent's trade hub Author: Bowen, Sally Publication info: Financial Times [London (UK)] 06 Sep 1996: 04. </s> |
2,203 | <s>[INST] Full text: Bolivia has a cherished ambition - to [/INST] turn itself from a small landlocked country into the energy and trade hub of South America. </s> |
2,204 | <s>[INST] It may be a tall task but Wednesday's official signing at [/INST] the Rio Group meeting in Cochabamba of the $1.8bn Brazil-Bolivia pipeline agreement marked a big step towards that goal. </s> |
2,205 | <s>[INST] At the signing of contracts between Petrobras , the Brazilian state oil company, and [/INST] YPFB, its soon-to-be-privatised Bolivian counterpart, Bolivia's President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada proclaimed it "a moment of relief and happiness" in which "everyone is a winner". </s> |
2,206 | <s>[INST] By the end of this month it hopes to [/INST] have agreed associate membership of Mercosur - the trade bloc grouping Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. </s> |
2,207 | <s>[INST] Bolivia runs a sizeable, [/INST] and steadily increasing, trade deficit with Mercosur. </s> |
2,208 | <s>[INST] Exports, especially to the first [/INST] big two, have dwindled while imports have increased. </s> |
2,209 | <s>[INST] Last year, Bolivia's trade account [/INST] with Mercosur was almost $150m in the red. </s> |
2,210 | <s>[INST] Trade between Bolivia and its traditional Andean Community (formerly [/INST] the Andean Pact) partners, on the other hand, has picked up over the past few years. </s> |
2,211 | <s>[INST] Bolivia's overall surplus with the Community - comprising [/INST] Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela - more than doubled between 1993 and 1995. </s> |
2,212 | <s>[INST] "Non-traditional" exports, largely soya and other agricultural [/INST] products to Peru and Colombia, account for most of the increase. </s> |
2,213 | <s>[INST] Many local businessmen fear being overwhelmed by the larger [/INST] and far more developed Mercosur economies: the traditional links are in their better interests, they argue. </s> |
2,214 | <s>[INST] "The Andean Community is our present and maybe its importance will [/INST] continue for the next five years," says Mr Victor Rico, secretary for international economic relations at the foreign ministry. </s> |
2,215 | <s>[INST] Mr Rico envisages Bolivia as both a trail-blazer [/INST] and a mediator between the 28-year-old Andean bloc and the dynamic five-year-old Mercosur. </s> |
2,216 | <s>[INST] He argues that associate membership of Mercosur is the best way to attract [/INST] investment and new technology to Bolivia, still South America's poorest country despite more than a decade of economic stability and 14 uninterrupted years of democracy. </s> |
2,217 | <s>[INST] At present, more than half [/INST] Bolivia's trade is with the US and Europe. </s> |
2,218 | <s>[INST] But raw materials, chiefly minerals, make up the [/INST] bulk: Bolivia has little prospect yet of exporting manufactured articles to such sophisticated markets. </s> |
2,219 | <s>[INST] Bolivian labour costs are much [/INST] lower than those in Brazil and Argentina. </s> |
2,220 | <s>[INST] Trade analysts predict that, once the agreement with Mercosur is [/INST] finalised, Brazilian and Argentine capital will be eager to enter Bolivia, where conditions for foreign investors are favourable. </s> |
2,221 | <s>[INST] According to Mr Rico, Bolivia could carve a niche [/INST] in manufacture of car parts for the new Toyota plant at Zarate, in Argentina, for example. </s> |
2,222 | <s>[INST] One Bolivian entrepreneur taking advantage of the strategic [/INST] geographical position is Mr Juan Ortega, of Soft Drink Services , the local Coca-Cola subsidiary. </s> |
2,223 | <s>[INST] Mr Ortega is expanding from bottling for [/INST] the local market into canning for export - by early 1997, he hopes. </s> |
2,224 | <s>[INST] "Studies show our costs are 30 per [/INST] cent lower than Argentina's and 20 per cent lower than Chile's," he says. </s> |
2,225 | <s>[INST] "The Brazilian market for soft drinks is growing enormously [/INST] and we believe membership of Mercosur will mean an immediate 50 per cent drop in tariffs". </s> |
2,226 | <s>[INST] Mr Ortega sees Bolivia's future as a "point of [/INST] re-export" for high-cost Argentine and Brazilian companies to gain access to the Andean Community market. </s> |
2,227 | <s>[INST] "It's a great opportunity for [/INST] Bolivia to capitalise on its position as a hinge". </s> |
2,228 | <s>[INST] As well as canned Coca-Cola, [/INST] Mr Ortega is evaluating export of juices and concentrates. </s> |
2,229 | <s>[INST] His market, he says, [/INST] will be the hinterland of neighbouring countries. </s> |
2,230 | <s>[INST] Northern Chile and Argentina, south-west Brazil and [/INST] southern Peru are far closer to La Paz than to their own capitals. </s> |
2,231 | <s>[INST] Even the highway linking dynamic [/INST] Santa Cruz to La Paz was not fully paved. </s> |
2,232 | <s>[INST] But Bolivia is spending heavily on upgrading [/INST] roads and other transport facilities to open up trade with its neighbours. </s> |
2,233 | <s>[INST] ___ Document 218 of 400 Chrysler to construct new [/INST] plant in Brazil Author: Simonian, Haig Publication info: Financial Times [London (UK)] 21 Aug 1996: 04. </s> |
2,234 | <s>[INST] Full text: Chrysler, the least international of the "Big Three" US carmakers, [/INST] took a further step to realise its global ambitions yesterday with a decision to build a new assembly plant in Brazil. </s> |
2,235 | <s>[INST] The move, at an undefined site, will reinforce Brazil's [/INST] growing importance as one of the world's most dynamic vehicle producers and as South America's prime market. </s> |
2,236 | <s>[INST] The choice also reflects the impact for foreign [/INST] carmaker groups of the commercial opportunities presented by the Mercosur free trade zone. </s> |
2,237 | <s>[INST] Chrysler will also expand its $100m car plant [/INST] in Argentina, announced last September, to cope with an expected increase in demand. </s> |
2,238 | <s>[INST] Together, the Brazilian and [/INST] additional Argentine investments will cost about $380m. </s> |
2,239 | <s>[INST] Chrysler's new Brazilian factory, costing about $315m, [/INST] will build the Dakota compact pick-up truck, launched this month in the US. </s> |
2,240 | <s>[INST] Capacity at the plant, which should start production in 1998, [/INST] will reach 40,000 units a year, but will start at about 12,000 units in its first year. </s> |
2,241 | <s>[INST] The Brazilian plant will be accompanied by a new four-cylinder engine [/INST] facility, probably in the vicinity, to be built by Detroit Diesel , the US diesel engine group partly owned by Mercedes-Benz. </s> |
2,242 | <s>[INST] Detroit Diesel's Italian VM Motori subsidiary already [/INST] supplies Chrysler with diesel engines for its European-built sports utility and multi-purpose vehicles. </s> |
2,243 | <s>[INST] The new Detroit Diesel factory, which is expected [/INST] to replicate the modular manufacturing processes developed by VM, will initially supply only Chrysler. </s> |
2,244 | <s>[INST] However, the company expects sales to expand to other vehicle groups [/INST] and said it might also manufacture heavier-duty five or six cylinder engines for the region's sizeable heavy lorry industry. </s> |
2,245 | <s>[INST] In Argentina, Chrysler will add the Jeep Cherokee sports utility [/INST] model to the Grand Cherokee which should start production at the new $100m Cordoba plant early next year. </s> |
2,246 | <s>[INST] Annual output of the two vehicles at [/INST] Cordoba should start at about 10,000 units and reach 16,000 at full tilt. </s> |
2,247 | <s>[INST] The Brazilian and Argentine facilities will help to [/INST] re-establish Chrysler's growing international manufacturing presence after withdrawing from foreign markets in the 1980s. </s> |
2,248 | <s>[INST] Foreign sales have climbed steadily since the company [/INST] re-entered overseas markets in 1987 and amounted to more than 200,000 units last year. </s> |
2,249 | <s>[INST] The two plants will consolidate Chrysler's position [/INST] as one of the world's leading makers of US designed light trucks. </s> |
2,250 | <s>[INST] These range from utilitarian pick-ups [/INST] to trendier sports utilities and multi-purpose people carriers. </s> |
2,251 | <s>[INST] Light trucks also dominate the company's exports, [/INST] accounting for about 75 per cent of its foreign sales volume. </s> |
2,252 | <s>[INST] Chrysler's Brazilian and Argentine investments represent a vote [/INST] of confidence in the Brazilian vehicle market and the wider economic benefits of the Mercosur. </s> |
2,253 | <s>[INST] "Our decision to manufacture in Brazil and expand production in Argentina is [/INST] based on the favourable economic conditions and future growth prospects we see in the Mercosur," said Mr Bob Eaton, Chrysler's chairman. </s> |
2,254 | <s>[INST] In spite of continuing concerns about regional economic volatility and the [/INST] current downturn in some markets, a number of leading vehicle groups have announced new investments in the two countries this year. </s> |
2,255 | <s>[INST] Renault is building a plant to make about 120,000 mid-sized [/INST] Megane models a year, while Mercedes-Benz will build a factory to manufacture about 70,000 small A Class hatchbacks. </s> |
2,256 | <s>[INST] Honda and Toyota have also [/INST] announced plans for lower-volume output at new plants. </s> |
2,257 | <s>[INST] Separately in Argentina, Fiat and Chrysler are developing new production facilities, [/INST] while Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen, the region's leading carmarkers alongside Fiat, are stepping up output in both countries. </s> |
2,258 | <s>[INST] ___ Document 220 of 400 Argentina's austerity plan falters Political and [/INST] business pressure mounts ahead of IMF visit Author: Pilling, David Publication info: Financial Times [London (UK)] 20 Aug 1996: 03. </s> |
2,259 | <s>[INST] Full text: An IMF mission is due to arrive in Buenos Aires today [/INST] amid signs that the austerity package it helped design for Argentina is beginning to unravel under intense pressure from politicians and business interests. </s> |
2,260 | <s>[INST] The austerity package, launched last week by Mr Roque Fernandez, the economy minister, aims to [/INST] boost treasury coffers by an annual $4bn-$4.5bn (£2.6bn-£2.9bn) and to help plug a budget deficit estimated to be heading for $6.6bn this year - $4.1bn more than IMF targets. </s> |
2,261 | <s>[INST] The Fund , which in February provided Argentina with a standby facility of $1.1bn, [/INST] will be asked to grant a waiver for missed fiscal targets in the first half of 1996, and to relax goals for the rest of the year. </s> |
2,262 | <s>[INST] However, assurances by Mr Fernandez that his proposals would be quickly [/INST] approved by Congress looked increasingly less convincing as legislators from the governing Peronist party voiced concern over specific measures. </s> |
2,263 | <s>[INST] In particular, congressmen have made it clear they [/INST] will not pass an increase in the women's retirement age from 60 to 65. </s> |
2,264 | <s>[INST] Congress will take note of a weekend poll in La [/INST] Nacion newspaper which found that 61 per cent of Argentines believed new tax measures would damage economic prospects. </s> |
2,265 | <s>[INST] In contrast to the initially positive reception to the appointment of Mr Fernandez [/INST] last month, 47 per cent of those consulted now thought he would make things worse, while only 13 per cent believed he would bring improvements. </s> |
2,266 | <s>[INST] Mr Fernandez, who lacks the communicative skills of Mr Domingo Cavallo, his predecessor, [/INST] has been severely criticised for failing to explain to Argentines, battered by recession and unemployment, why they must tolerate yet another austerity round. </s> |
2,267 | <s>[INST] Mr Enrique Szewach, an economist writing in El Cronista newspaper yesterday, said: "I [/INST] have no idea why the economic team, far from explaining its recent measures, prefers to present itself as a group of hard and insensitive monetarists". </s> |
2,268 | <s>[INST] Governors of Argentina's provinces, many of which [/INST] are in financial chaos, have already negotiated changes to the Fernandez package. </s> |
2,269 | <s>[INST] Provinces agreed to waive their rights to share [/INST] the higher tax revenue which will result from proposed increases to diesel and petrol prices. </s> |
2,270 | <s>[INST] But, in return, they have won a share [/INST] in personal property tax, which they propose should be doubled to 1 per cent. </s> |
2,271 | <s>[INST] The government has also agreed to scrap a proposal that would [/INST] have set a ceiling on the overall tax revenue that the federal government is obliged to share with provinces. </s> |
2,272 | <s>[INST] Industrialists too are pressing for the [/INST] reversal of several proposals which they believe will reduce Argentina's competitiveness. </s> |
2,273 | <s>[INST] They are fighting planned cuts to export subsidies [/INST] and the proposed scrapping of duty-free imports of capital goods and factory supplies. </s> |
2,274 | <s>[INST] There may be more modifications before the [/INST] austerity bill is sent to Congress, possibly as early as tomorrow. </s> |
2,275 | <s>[INST] Analysts believe the package, which could be further [/INST] watered down by legislators, will not become law for at least a month. </s> |
2,276 | <s>[INST] ___ Document 245 of 400 Argentina returns with [/INST] $500m FRN Author: John, Peter Publication info: Financial Times [London (UK)] 12 Aug 1996: 24. </s> |
2,277 | <s>[INST] Full text: Argentina's return to the eurobond market last Wednesday with [/INST] a $500m offering was not in itself spectacular, reflecting little more than the continuation of the country's medium-term note programme. </s> |
2,278 | <s>[INST] But it did provide pointers to the tone [/INST] of the $2,740bn market in emerging economy debt, and perceptions of Argentina in particular. </s> |
2,279 | <s>[INST] Coming on the back of Mexico's recent $6bn FRN issue, [/INST] it was further confirmation that global markets remain convinced of an upward trend in US interest rates. </s> |
2,280 | <s>[INST] FRNs offer protection against the erosion [/INST] of yield that takes place once rates begin to pick up. </s> |
2,281 | <s>[INST] Second, the discounted price margin on the three-year notes was only 274 basis [/INST] points over Treasuries, compared with 330 for benchmark Argentine paper immediately after the resignation last month of Mr Domingo Cavallo, the country's economy minister. </s> |
2,282 | <s>[INST] The narrowing of the spread pointed [/INST] to improving confidence in Mr Cavallo's successor, Mr Roque Fernandez. </s> |
2,283 | <s>[INST] Finally, it was a reminder that Argentina will have to come up [/INST] with a fiscal package early this week that will please the International Monetary Fund when it arrives in a week's time. </s> |
2,284 | <s>[INST] Pressure has been increased by a general strike against [/INST] a policy of fiscal tightening which brought the country almost to a standstill last Thursday. </s> |
2,285 | <s>[INST] Mr Peter West, economic adviser for WestMerchant [/INST] Bank , says: "Argentina is caught between a rock and a hard place. </s> |
2,286 | <s>[INST] Its deficit is $1bn greater than targeted [/INST] under the IMF programme, but it needs to boost economic activity and employment". </s> |
2,287 | <s>[INST] Argentine Brady bonds quoted in London rose 25 basis points [/INST] to to 77.81 cents in the dollar, up nearly four cents since the beginning of the month. </s> |
2,288 | <s>[INST] Mr Jerome Booth, head of emerging market research at ANZ [/INST] , remains confident about prospects for Argentine bonds - the worst performers in the Brady market this year. </s> |
2,289 | <s>[INST] "Mr Cavallo's demise has already started to provide benefits, giving [/INST] rise to a more realistic assessment of the current economic predicament and the promise of greater co-operation from Congress. </s> |
2,290 | <s>[INST] ___ Document 251 of 400 Different minister, same [/INST] Argentina Author: Pilling, David Publication info: Financial Times [London (UK)] 08 Aug 1996: 03. </s> |
2,291 | <s>[INST] Full text: Mr Roque Fernandez, Argentina's new economy [/INST] minister, could hardly have hoped for a smoother first few days in office. </s> |
2,292 | <s>[INST] Instead of the turbulent markets many had expected to follow the [/INST] removal of Mr Domingo Cavallo, his predecessor, Mr Fernandez has been greeted by market optimism and strong investor support. </s> |
2,293 | <s>[INST] Much of that is to do with the political astuteness of President Carlos Menem, who judged to perfection the moment to sack his assertive economy minister - [/INST] once considered the guarantor of Argentina's economic model - and who mounted an impressive operation designed to bolster the credibility of Mr Fernandez the weekend after the dismissal Before markets opened on Monday July 29, Mr Fernandez had received support from all sections of the Argentine establishment, including the outgoing Mr Cavallo. </s> |
2,294 | <s>[INST] He had named a team of highly orthodox, monetarist economists [/INST] judged stalwart defenders of the convertibility system, Argentina's economic cornerstone that pegs the peso at parity with the dollar. </s> |
2,295 | <s>[INST] Markets reacted like a dream, with the local Merval [/INST] index of blue-chip stock up nearly 10 per cent in the first week after Mr Fernandez's appointment. </s> |
2,296 | <s>[INST] "The world did not collapse," [/INST] says Mr Freddy Thomsen of ING, the Dutch bank. </s> |
2,297 | <s>[INST] "But now we realise this is the [/INST] same world as last month, with the same problems and few solutions". </s> |
2,298 | <s>[INST] Those problems centre on a stagnant economy [/INST] struggling to haul itself from the deep recession of last year. </s> |
2,299 | <s>[INST] Tax receipts are short of targets set with the [/INST] International Monetary Fund , obliging the treasury to raise taxes further or to look for spending cuts. </s> |
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