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SINGAPORE: Latin American countries are now looking to Asia to plug the gap left by OECD members as a result of the global economic slowdown.
At the Latin Asia Business Forum on Thursday, on the sidelines of the APEC meetings, the Inter-American Development Bank noted that there were many opportunities for Asian investors to participate in the development of the region. And the key sector is infrastructure.
Luis Moreno, president, Inter-American Development Bank, said: "There is a tremendous lag in investment in infrastructure in Latin America, the one that was experienced in Asia 20 years ago.
"So ramping up that infrastructure development cannot be financed by governments alone and will require investment, and it will require financing from both public and private sectors."
Latin American economies are expected to grow by some 2.9 per cent next year.
Last year, Asia was Latin America's second most important trading partner after North America, with trade flows between the two regions reaching US$221.7 billion, a 21 per cent increase over the previous year.
Singaporean firms are also getting into the act, with over 120 local companies already investing in Latin America and the Caribbean.
One of them is specialty chemical company Sateri International Group that owns a facility in Brazil. Its CEO, Will Hoon, said the opportunities in Latin America far outweigh obstacles - such as distance and language barriers.
He said: "They definitely have come out of the global economic crisis relatively faster than most other economies in the world, definitely than those in the West. The economy is doing very well and the capital markets are doing extremely well."
Temasek Holdings is another local firm that has decided to expand its investments in Latin America.
Lorenzo Gonzalez Bosco, managing director of Temasek Holdings Mexico said the firm has already set up offices in Brazil and Mexico and is looking into what sectors to invest in, possibly as soon as next year. - 938LIVE/vm
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