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Ecuador’s electricity minister has signed an agreement which could turn out to be worth more than $100 million in sales for foreign suppliers of energy generators to Cuba. Official media are reporting that the agreement states that Cuba will provide 110 megawatts of thermal power for Ecuador in the future. A pair of other agreements, recently signed by Ecuadorean Electricity Minister Esteban Albornoz and Cuban Basic Industries Minister Tomás Benítez in Havana, establish “efficient ways for training in the electric sector” and collaboration on energy efficiency. Both countries are being rather tight-lipped, and neither has come forward with any details.The agreement apparently amends a 2009 “memorandum of understanding” on energy cooperation. Under the 2009 contract, Cuba has provided 390 mw of distributed energy produced by fuel-oil generators, biogas and biomass technology, and manages a substitution program which helps to convert Ecuadorean households to electric stoves. For it’s part, Ecuador makes it’s hydroelectric knowledge available to Cuba. Ecuador already uses Cuban help in training energy management experts.
July 24th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate | Read More »
With it’s history of genocide, political turmoil, economic instability and hyperinflation, until quite recently, Zimbabwe has been a traditional “bad investment”. However, in early August a group of investors from Hong Kong will be coming to the tiny, land-locked country to explore investment opportunities in the hotel, leisure, mining and jewelry industries. This reflects the hopeful nature of the Zimbabwean economy, which at the moment, is stable and rising. DEAT Capital, a private economics firm partnered with the government and Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) traveled to Hong Kong and Singapore to explore investment and venture capital sources in the two countries. CZI is a private industry interest group, which advocates for businesses in Zimbabwe.
July 23rd, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
A recent cabinet decision in Kenya to legalize the importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has sparked a heated debate in Parliament over the safety of the genetically engineered organisms. In mid-July, the Cabinet approved a bill allowing the importation of GMO corn with the stated intention of increasing food security and alleviating the ongoing food shortages the country has experienced for the past several years. However, Legislators Joshua Kutuny, John Pesa and Charles Keter are claiming that the bill merely uses hunger and food security to force GMO corn into a country which has historically resisted GMOs in all forms, like many other countries in the world. Mr Keter questioned the intentions of those who support the law, while Mr. Kutuny even went so far as to raise concerns that the government was complicit in the current food shortage, and Mr. Pesa suggested alternatives to GMOs, such as new technology, and farm subsidies.
July 22nd, 2011 | Posted in Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
On Wednesday, July 20, a general strike of as many as 10,00 oil workers went into effect in eastern Colombia amid protests sparked by the dismissal of labor union spokespersons and hundreds of contractors. The work stoppage has resulted in violence, leaving six people injured, and seven vehicles in flames, said Puerto Gaitan’s mayor Oscar Bolaños. The inland town of Puerto Gaitan, located in Colombia’s Meta province is where Pacific Rubiales Energy’s massive Rubiales field is located, and field has become the focus of the protests. Bolaños told a local radio station that the violence has had an impact on the region’s oil exploration and production zones. Labor spokespersons have stated that the workers are “very dissatisfied” with working conditions in the region, and that national riot police deployed to quell the protests used excessive force against the otherwise peaceful protesters.
July 21st, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
On July 18, Peru’s Congress approved a bill which would pay the country’s 40 year old land reform bonds which could be worth $1.4 billion or more. The bill, which has yet to be signed into law, instructs the finance ministry to establish a debt swap program which could consume 1 percent of the country’s GDP. The law allows owners of the old land reform bonds to swap their certificates for new sovereign debts. The law also specifically stipulated that the new bonds have up to 30 year maturities so that the next government would not saddled with the entirety of the debt. The bonds were issued in Peru’s bitter 1970’s, when leftist President Gen. Juan Velasco attempted a land redistribution by giving the land of the wealthy to the poor. However, many middle-class land owners were also ensnared in the scheme.
July 20th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
Biofuels have come to be viewed as a renewable source of energy for our transportation needs in the future, and investment in the area has become quite intense. However, this rush to invest has led to an erosion of the very principles of renewability which make biofuels popular in the first place. For instance, large sections of tropical rainforest and rich peatlands are being over harvested, sown over, or otherwise destroyed in order to make more room for the switch grass, corn, and soya feed stocks for ethanol. The growing demand for biofuels must be met with sustainable production practices, or else the efforts towards fuel efficiency and sustainability will simply be replacing one bad practice with another while providing a false sense of well-being. To this end, the EU has set up a system for biofuel sourcing which relies both on voluntary certification agencies and member state evaluations of biofuel sustainability.
July 20th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate | Read More »
Sao Paulo’s credit card interest rate averages a whopping 238 percent, according to a study conducted earlier this year by Fecomercio, a federation of commerce. That roughly translates to a $3,380 tab for carrying a balance of just $1,000 dollars for one year. With the Central Bank of Brazil attempting to curb it’s rising inflation, that interest rate is likely to rise. In the 1990′s and early 2000′s Brazil experienced hyperinflation and economic upheaval. When the economy was finally under control, banks expanded credit offers for commercial entities and individuals. Bank credit cards in circulation have tripled to 150 million in that time, which is roughly .75 credit cards per person. By contrast, the rate of US credit card ownership is about 60% percent.
July 16th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate | Read More »
The Tambatuon Dam project in Kota Belud, Malaysia may be the solution food insecurity in Sabah, the second largest state in the country. According to government projections, the Dam will increase rice production over the 25,000 hectares of unproductive rice paddies in the region. The construction of the dam is part of a larger plan to increase rice yields by 10% to make Malaysia totally self-sufficient. The dam has been met with opposition, both by the roughly 600 villagers it would displace and some outside observers, such as Christopher Teh, an academic from the Faculty of Agriculture in Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM). Teh believes that in light of the low yields at existent paddies, the dam is “unnecessary”.
July 16th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
Productivity for the 21st Century states that gaps in productivity on small farms in Africa are one of the largest factors in the global food security crisis. The report states that only small improvements to the farming system in Africa can turn struggling farms into prosperous ones. Africa is one of the most food deficient areas in the world, global supply chains having chronically failed the region, and relatively little developed agriculture due to extreme poverty.
July 15th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
In 2012, world population will hit 7 billion, and this unprecedented level of population growth and density has prompted the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) to launch the “7 Billion Actions” campaign to promote new techniques for tackling global development challenges. As the world population increases, the largest concern is still hunger, which kills 6 million children each year, a number roughly equivalent to the population of Israel.On the plus side, innovative solutions in sustainable agriculture can provide a not only food, but also opportunities for a growing population. Sustainable agriculture has become seen as a solution to climate change, public health problems, urban livability, and unemployment in a stagnant job market. The UN hopes that by sharing stories of successful innovations in an open forum, communication and collaboration will spring up, resulting in increased efficiency and production. As the population of earth increases and becomes increasingly dependent on each other, environmentally sustainable, health oriented solutions will be increasingly necessary.
July 14th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate | Read More »
