d - Mahratta Chamber Of Commerce Industries & Agriculture Pune

LATIN AMERICA BECKONS INDIAN INDUSTRY
R. Viswanathan
Latin America is a large
market of 20 countries, 556
million people, 4.7 trillion
down but bottom-up. The masses, with
their new-found voting power elect
those who promise to make a change in
percentage of GDP has been brought
down to 28.5% in 2010 from 58.2% in
2002. The governments have paid off
dollars of GDP, 8400 dollars per capita their lives, through an inclusive their major external debts and there are
income, 896 billion dollars of exports development agenda. With this political no more¨ IMF cases¨ in the region. In
and 793 billion imports. change, millions of Latin Americans fact, Brazil and Argentina paid their
have been pulled out from below the debts off to IMF ahead of schedule.
In the past, Latin America had poverty line. Brazil has become a creditor to IMF
suffered military dictatorships, hyper
now! Governments and companies
inflation, volatile currencies and The region has tamed inflation have been successfully raising
excessive external debt burden. But decisively and has kept it in single digit resources through issue of bonds in
now the region has definitely overcome in the last decade. The average rate of local currencies. Domestic saving rates
the past curses of instability, inflation of the region was 6.2 % in 2010. in the region have started going up and
unpredictability and cycles of booms The currencies and exchange rates there is a conscious determination to
and busts. have become stable and predictable. avoid reliance on external resources.
Foreign Exchange Reserves of the
D e m o c r a c y h a s i r r e v e r s i b l y Many currencies including the region have been steadily increasing
replaced military dictatorship in most Brazilian Real and Chilean Peso have from 163 billion dollars in 2001 to 614
countries. The political and economic been appreciating in recent years. billion in 2010. Foreign Direct
agenda of the region is no longer top- Gross public debt of the region as a Investment has increased from 38
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