From January to April, tourist investments in Mexico have totaled $2.803 billion USD, accounting for 84% of the total annual goal in this area.

The SECTUR director noted that during the past 16 months of President Felipe Calderón’s administration, Mexico has accumulated $6.267 billion USD, as a result of which it has achieved 31% of its six-year goal of $20 billion USD.

On behalf of President Felipe Calderón, Elizondo inaugurated the 22nd Annual Convention of the Mexican Association of Tourist Developers (AMDETUR) on “Tourism, the Engine of Development for Mexico.”

Earlier today, Tourism Secretariat Rodolfo Elizondo inaugurated the 22nd Annual Convention of the Mexican Association of Tourist Developers (AMDETUR) on “Tourism, the Engine of Development for Mexico,” at which he told businessmen in the area that Mexico has shown favorable results regarding private tourist investment by accumulating $2.803 billion USD during the first four months of the year.

Accompanied by José Carlos Azcárraga, President of AMDETUR, the SECTUR director stated that as a result of the confidence of investors in the tourism sector, 31% of the six-year goal of $20 billion USD has been achieved, since over the past 16 months of President Calderón´s government, $6.267 billion USD of investment in tourism have been generated.

“55% of this investment comes from national capitals, while the remaining 45% corresponds to foreign investors, mainly from the United States and Spain.”

“The presence of those of you who are tourist investors and developers confirms your enormous confidence in Mexico and your willingness to continue combining forces and coordinating the actions that will enable us to increase tourist flows and investments and thereby contribute to Mexico’s economic development,” declared Elizondo Torres.

He went on to say that in order to continue promoting tourism in Mexico, the National Tourist Promotion Fund (FONATUR) will participate in major projects such as La Pesca in Tamaulipas as well as two tourist real estate developments in Puerto Escondido and Baja California Sur.

The Tourist Secretary admitted that tourism in Mexico will be further reinforced by President Calderón’s support of this industry, one example of which has been the creation of the National Infrastructure Fund.

“This fund provides the possibility of financing tourist projects for the state, which in turn will facilitate the construction of the tourist attractions we have planned, as well as the improvement of urban services in already consolidated destinations.”

In particular, he reported, the Tourism Secretariat has formally submitted a package of seven investment requests for providing basic services such as drainage, safe drinking water and the installation of wastewater treatment plants and other urban works for seven beach tourism destinations, including Cancún, Ixtapa-Zihautanejo, Loreto, Los Cabos, Puerto Peñasco, Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Maya.

Lastly, Secretary Elizondo urged businessmen and investors to continue trusting in Mexico and to create a sustainable, orderly development for the benefit of the industry and Mexico’s economic and social development.
“The point is not to do business to the advantage of a few and to the disadvantage of many but to ensure that investments in Mexico are attractive and profitable for investments while distributing wealth, which will create well-paid sources of employment and provide local benefits.”

“I would urge you to continue investing in Mexico and for our growth to be orderly and planned and have a long-term vision rather than one based on doing business in a day,” he stated.

The inauguration of this event was attended by Ernesto Coppel Nelly, President of the National Tourist Business Council (CNET); Luis Antonio Mahbub Sarquis, President of the Confederation of National Chambers of Trade, Services and Tourism (Concanaco-Servytur), legislators, state tourist businessmen and businessmen in the area.
Source: Head Office of Media and Communication, Press and Information Office, Tourist Secretariat (SECTUR).

original here

Posted on June 23rd, 2008 by Tropicasa
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6/4/2008.-As of last Monday, the International Airport of Puerto Vallarta Gustavo Díaz Ordaz has a booth which is reimbursing the Value Added Tax (VAT) to foreign tourists that have made purchases in the country.

 

The booth is owned by the Mexican company Yvesam Retornos Mundiales S.A de C.V, who obtained a ten year concession to administer the reimbursement of the tax to those foreign tourists who can show a minimum purchase of 1,200 pesos (including the VAT) in Mexico and that they are returning to their country either via airplane or ship.

 

This booth has three people to attend to the customers and right now is open from 8:00 am to 8:00p.m. and soon will maintain the house of 7:00 am to 10:00 pm

 

The manager of operations of the booth, Uriel Miranda Zavala, indicated in an interview with the media, “the response of the businesses and the tourists has been scarce because of a lack of information on this new policy. We need to begin, both the government, the businesses and we ourselves, to spread the word that this is a benefit that will help tourism and obviously increase income to small and medium sized businesses from the consumption that the tourists make in those affiliated businesses.  At the same time, he revealed “that very few tourists have come by since they think it is a money exchange – all this due to misinformation that exists, and in fact, many businesses in Mexico still do not realize that they are returning the VAT to the foreign tourists here just like they do in other countries.”

It is important to note that the reimbursement of IVA to those foreigners in Mexico as tourists is only done in the event they have acquired products or services in one of the businesses or stores that are affiliated with the concessionaires authorized by the tax authority, in the case of Puerto Vallarta, the one currently operating is Yvesam Retornos Mundiales S.A de C.V.

 

Nevertheless, due to misinformation and lack of interest from Vallarta businesses, only two companies have become affiliated, (Optica Alvarez and No Name Boutique) even though affiliating costs nothing to the affiliating business; on the contrary, the affiliates shall actually have a “benefit” as the tourists will have a distinct advantage with merchandise that they acquire since they have the possibility of the reimbursement of the VAT.  It is also important to note that this benefit does not include services, such as hotel and restaurant, just as in other parts of the world.

The tax authority (SAT) granted concessions to three companies for operation.  These companies are Premier Tax Free, Global Refund México and YVESAM Retornos Mundiales S.A de C.V, who will be responsible for the administration of the return of the tax to foreign tourists that can show a minimum purchase of $1,200 pesos (including VAT) in Mexico and that they are returning to their country either via airplane or ship.

 

The Procedure

 

As part of the procedure, which shall be completed bit by bit throughout the country, purchases made by international tourists must be paid by credit card of debit card or in cash if less than $3,000 pesos.  Purchases may be made in those stores or businesses that have been affiliated with a concessionaire who is duly authorized by the tax authority.  For the reimbursement, the tourist shall have the right to receive up to 50% of the net reimbursable amount back in cash, as long as said amount is not more than $10,000 pesos, and the balance shall be sent electronically within 40 days.  The airports which are going to begin operation this summer, in the first phase, are the airports of Mexico City, Cancun, Guadalajara, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta; this because they have an large influx of international visitors.

In the second phase, in the next six months, booths will be set up in the airports of Monterrey, Cozumel, El Bajío, Mazatlán and Morelia; finally this will occur in the rest of the airports in Mexico and ports such as Acapulco, La Paz, Huatulco, among others.

 

(original, in spanish http://www.vallartavive.com/vallartavive.asp?id=2018)

 

Posted on June 9th, 2008 by Tropicasa
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From the 30 May 2008 Miami Herald, BY FEDERICA NARANCIO McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — When the U. S. economy sneezes, Latin American economies catch colds, according to an old saying. Not this time — at least for now. The U.S. crisis triggered by subprime mortgages and rising energy costs will spare most economies in Latin America, experts said Thursday.

The bad news is that the slowing U.S. economy and high oil and food prices will continue to drag down the global economy, including Latin America’s to some degree.

Overall, the International Monetary Fund predicted that the region’s growth would slow from 5.6 percent in 2007 to 4.4 percent in 2008 and to 3.6 percent in 2009.

Over the past decade, the region experienced steady economic growth, but not every country is well positioned for the downturn, said Anoop Singh, the director of the Western Hemisphere department at the International Monetary Fund. He and others spoke at the American Enterprise Institute, a neoconservative policy institute in Washington.

They noted that countries such as Venezuela, Brazil, Chile and Mexico have seen their economies grow because of a boom in commodity exports such as oil, copper and soy, but not due to fundamental improvements in their economies.

‘‘International commodity prices have experienced an unprecedented boom over the past five years, but they are expected to ease if there is a global recession,’’ said Desmond Lachman, an advisor to AEI.

THE POOR’S BURDEN

Independent of the U. S. economic situation, high food and energy prices are burdening Latin America’s poorest people, said Singh.

Countries such as Brazil and Mexico can deal with that because they have welldeveloped social programs to address the needs of the poor, he added. Other countries, however, lack the money to do so. Singh urged those countries to turn to international organizations such as the IMF for social welfare funds, rather than using their central banks.

Haiti has done that, Singh said, and other Central American and Caribbean nations are following suit. On Tuesday, the Inter- American Development Bank approved a $500 million line of credit primarily to assist Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Because their economies are more closely tied to the U.S. economy and they rely on imported oil, Singh and other analysts said, they’d be more affected by the global food and energy crisis than other South American economies will be.

Inflation is another major concern in the region. Lachman and two other advisors from the institute gave Brazil and Mexico ‘‘A’s’’ for acting quickly to keep inflation low. Venezuela and Argentina got ‘‘ F’s’’ for adopting populist policies that will make it harder for them to rein in inflationary pressures.

In Argentina, where the government increased taxes on agricultural exports, farmers have been protesting on the streets for months.

LIVE AND LEARN

Richard Noriega, a former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs and now an advisor to AEI, said the popular protests in Argentina show that people are ‘‘terrified’’ by the prospect of an economic crisis. But he said that other countries in the region would learn from Argentina’s mistakes and avoid them.

‘‘Argentina and Venezuela are cautionary tales that reassure other countries that what they are doing is the right thing,’’ Noriega said. ‘‘If you slap the invisible hand of the market, you are more likely to have problems.’’

Posted on June 2nd, 2008 by Tropicasa
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The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now.

How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won’t happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor.

Most people forget that the current housing bust is nearly three years old. Home sales peaked in July 2005. New home sales are down a staggering 63% from peak levels of 1.4 million. Housing starts have fallen more than 50% and, adjusted for population growth, are back to the trough levels of 1982.

Furthermore, residential construction is close to 15-year lows at 3.8% of GDP; by the fourth quarter of this year, it will probably hit the lowest level ever. So what’s going to stop the housing decline? Very simply, the same thing that caused the bust: affordability.

The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, it took 19% of average monthly income to service a conforming mortgage on the average home purchased. By 2005 and 2006, it was absorbing 25% of monthly income. For first time buyers, it went from 29% of income to 37%. That just proved to be too much.

Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst.

Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s. Numerous households that had been priced out of the market can now afford to get in.

The next question is: Even if home sales pick up, how can home prices stop falling with so many houses vacant and unsold? The flip but true answer: because they always do.

In the past five major housing market corrections (and there were some big ones, such as in the early 1980s when home sales also fell by 50%-60% and prices fell 12%-15% in real terms), every time home sales bottomed, the pace of house-price declines halved within one or two months.

The explanation is that by the time home sales stop declining, inventories of unsold homes have usually already started falling in absolute terms and begin to peak out in “months of supply” terms. That’s the case right now: New home inventories peaked at 598,000 homes in July 2006, and stand at 482,000 homes as of the end of March. This inventory is equivalent to 11 months of supply, a 25-year high – but it is similar to 1974, 1982 and 1991 levels, which saw a subsequent slowing in home-price declines within the next six months.

Inventories are declining because construction activity has been falling for such a long time that home completions are now just about undershooting new home sales. In a few months, completions of new homes for sale could be undershooting new home sales by 50,000-100,000 annually.

Inventories will drop even faster to 400,000 – or seven months of supply – by the end of 2008. This shift in inventories will have a significant impact on prices, although house prices won’t stop falling entirely until inventories reach five months of supply sometime in 2009. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market.

Many pundits claim that house prices need to fall another 30% to bring them back in line with where they’ve been historically. This is usually based on an analysis of house prices adjusted for inflation: Real house prices are 30% above their 40-year, inflation-adjusted average, so they must fall 30%. This simplistic analysis is appealing on the surface, but is flawed for a variety of reasons.

Most importantly, it neglects the fact that a great majority of Americans buy their houses with mortgages. And if one buys a house with a mortgage, the most important factor in deciding what to pay for the house is how much of one’s income is required to be able to make the mortgage payments on the house. Today the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is 5.7%. Back in 1981, the rate hit 18.5%. Comparing today’s house prices to the 1970s or 1980s, when mortgage rates were stratospheric, is misguided and misleading.

This is all good news for the broader economy. The housing bust has been subtracting a full percentage point from GDP for almost two years now, which is very large for a sector that represents less than 5% of economic activity.

When the rate of house-price declines halves, there will be a wholesale shift in markets’ perceptions. All of a sudden, the expected value of the collateral (i.e. houses) for much of the lending that went on for the past decade will change. Right now, when valuing the collateral, market participants including banks are extrapolating the current pace of house price declines for another two to three years; this has a significant impact on the amount of delinquencies, foreclosures and credit losses that lenders are expected to face.

More home sales and smaller price declines means fewer homeowners will be underwater on their mortgages. They will thus have less incentive to walk away and opt for foreclosure.

A milder house-price decline scenario could lead to increases in the market value of a lot of the securitized mortgages that have been responsible for $300 billion of write-downs in the past year. Even if write-backs do not occur, stabilizing collateral values will have a huge impact on the markets’ perception of risk related to housing, the financial system, and the economy.

We are of course experiencing a serious housing bust, with serious economic consequences that are still unfolding. The odds are that the reverberations will lead to subtrend growth for a couple of years. Nonetheless, housing led us into this credit crisis and this recession. It is likely to lead us out. And that process is underway, right now.

Mr. Moulle-Berteaux is managing partner of Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund firm based in New York.

From original here

Posted on May 28th, 2008 by Tropicasa
Filed under: News | No Comments »

May 12, 2008
By: Scott Baltic, Contributing CPN Editor

The launch party will be held Friday and five of 46 condo units are presold, with three more under contract. Not earth-shattering, perhaps, but further evidence that the real estate slowdown is an inconsistent beast. 

The first of two towers at Grupo GVA’s $40 million-plus Dos Marias condo project just outside Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, broke ground about two months ago. The 18-story south tower will include 29 two-bedroom homes of nearly 2,000 square feet each, 13 three-bedroom homes of 2,400 to 2,500 square feet all at the building’s corners. In addition, there will be four penthouses: a traditional penthouse on the top floor and three two-story townhouse penthouses below it. 

Shared amenities at the development will include a bar and pool area, a gym with sun deck, 24-hour security and a small grocery store. The second tower will feature a multi-edge infinity pool on the 12th floor; a second pool in the south tower will overlook the jungle and the adjacent river.

Two of the penthouses are among the presold units, Wayne Franklin, president of Tropicasa Realty, Dos Marias’ sales representative, told CPN. “People are still looking for retirement and vacation homes,” he said, and the top end of the market hasn’t seen much fallout from the recession. Preconstruction prices start at $297,000 and go up to nearly $1 million for a penthouse. 

Tropicasa has cast a wide net to market Dos Marias, he said, and buyers so far have included Americans, Mexicans and Canadians, with some European interest as well. “Mexico is basically on sale as far as Canadians are concerned,” Franklin noted. 

The first tower is scheduled for completion in 12 to 15 months. A second, very similar tower on the five-acre site will break ground in about six months, depending on sales in the first tower. 

original here http://www.commercialpropertynews.com/cpn/content_display/property-types/multi-family/e3i5f4f96a86a45fead7049a8881d93b026

Posted on May 23rd, 2008 by Tropicasa
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MEXICO CITY — A sizzling stock market. A strengthening peso. Good economic growth. Someone forgot to tell Mexico that the U.S. has been flirting with recession.

Mexico’s gross domestic product expanded at an annualized rate of 2.6% in the first three months of the year compared with a year earlier, according to government figures released Thursday. It’s a respectable performance that highlights the nation’s surprising resilience in the face of a U.S. slowdown.

The growth appeared muted compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, when Mexico’s GDP expanded by 3.8%. But there was statistical noise in the first-quarter numbers. The government this year adopted a new international standard for calculating GDP, which is the value of all goods and services produced in the economy. And the January-to-March period was hobbled by this year’s early Easter week holiday, which resulted in fewer working days compared with the first three months of last year. Adjusting for those factors, first-quarter GDP growth was a solid 3.7%, according to the Treasury secretariat.

“Mexico . . . is not immune” to what’s happening north of the border, said Gray Newman, chief Latin American economist for Morgan Stanley in New York. But “it’s not suffering the kind of downturn that everyone was expecting with weakness in the U.S.”

Mexico is the world’s 14th-largest economy, according to the latest statistics available from the World Bank, with GDP of $839.2 billion in 2006.

The fortunes of Mexico have long been linked to those of its northern neighbor, bound as the two countries are by geography, immigration, trade and investment. The U.S. housing industry, for example, which employs 1 in 5 Latino immigrants, is in a slump, resulting in a marked slowdown of remittances sent to Mexico. A prolonged downturn would undoubtedly hit Mexico hard.

Still, the nation’s economy is holding up well. One factor is that much of the world economy is growing despite the U.S. slowdown. Although Mexico still ships about 80% of its exports to the U.S., its farmers and manufacturers are looking for new customers in Asia, Europe and the rest of Latin America.

That diversification is paying off. During the first quarter, Mexican exports to the U.S. grew just over 16%, while shipments to the rest of the world climbed 32%. Exports to Europe grew 56%.

The trend can be seen at Volkswagen de Mexico, the Mexican division of the German automaker, which manufactures Beetles and Jettas at a sprawling facility in Puebla. Through the first four months of the year, VW’s Mexican exports totaled 123,000 vehicles, up 29% from the year-earlier period, according to company spokesman Thomas Karig.

The Puebla plant recently began manufacturing the new fuel-efficient Jetta SportWagen, which is proving to be a hot seller in Europe, Karig said. Exports to Brazil and Argentina are strong as well. The Mexican government’s decision to enter into free-trade agreements with a number of nations has made Mexico an attractive place to build cars, Karig said.

“We can export our cars very competitively from Mexico to these other markets,” he said.

Other automakers are posting good numbers as well. Through the first four months of the year, vehicle exports from Mexico are up 18.5% over the year-earlier period, according to figures from the Mexican Automotive Industry Assn.

One of the strongest performers has been General Motors Corp. Mexico’s largest automaker exported 127,625 vehicles in the first four months of the year, up nearly 38% over 2007, according to the association.

Part of that jump reflects production of a new model, the Saturn VUE, at GM’s Saltillo, Mexico, plant. The crossover sport utility vehicle gets better gas mileage than traditional full-size SUVs, according to GM spokesman Mauricio Kuri.

Skyrocketing crude prices might be pinching U.S. drivers, but they’ve meant record oil revenue for Mexico, the world’s sixth-largest oil producer. The petroleum windfall is bankrolling a slew of government spending and investment, which is helping to keep the economy rolling. Total public spending increased 9.5% in the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year.

President Felipe Calderon plans to invest billions in roads, airports and other infrastructure during his six-year term, which ends in 2012.

“Fiscal policy is one of the main weapons that the Mexican government is activating to protect the economy from the American recession monster,” said Alfredo Coutino, Latin America analyst with Moody’s Economy.com. “We’re already seeing the effects.”

The economy has also gotten a boost from a stronger peso: The currency has risen from 10.91 to the dollar Dec. 31 to 10.37 on Thursday.

Mexico’s IPC stock market index is up 5.8% in peso terms year to date and up 11.4% in dollar terms, thanks to the peso’s strength.

marla.dickerson

@latimes.com

original at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mexgdp23-2008may23,0,6944412.story

Posted on May 23rd, 2008 by Tropicasa
Filed under: News | No Comments »

May 12, 2008
By: Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

The launch party will be held Friday and five of 46 condo units are presold, with three more under contract. Not earth-shattering, perhaps, but further evidence that the real estate slowdown is an inconsistent beast. 

The first of two towers at Grupo GVA’s $40 million-plus Dos Marias condo project just outside Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, broke ground about two months ago. The 18-story south tower will include 29 two-bedroom homes of nearly 2,000 square feet each, 13 three-bedroom homes of 2,400 to 2,500 square feet all at the building’s corners. In addition, there will be four penthouses: a traditional penthouse on the top floor and three two-story townhouse penthouses below it. 

Shared amenities at the development will include a bar and pool area, a gym with sun deck, 24-hour security and a small grocery store. The second tower will feature a multi-edge infinity pool on the 12th floor; a second pool in the south tower will overlook the jungle and the adjacent river.

Two of the penthouses are among the presold units, Wayne Franklin, president of Tropicasa Realty, Dos Marias’ sales representative, told CPN. “People are still looking for retirement and vacation homes,” he said, and the top end of the market hasn’t seen much fallout from the recession. Preconstruction prices start at $297,000 and go up to nearly $1 million for a penthouse. 

Tropicasa has cast a wide net to market Dos Marias, he said, and buyers so far have included Americans, Mexicans and Canadians, with some European interest as well. “Mexico is basically on sale as far as Canadians are concerned,” Franklin noted. 

The first tower is scheduled for completion in 12 to 15 months. A second, very similar tower on the five-acre site will break ground in about six months, depending on sales in the first tower.

Original here

Posted on May 12th, 2008 by Tropicasa
Filed under: News | No Comments »

Puerto Vallarta and the Nayarit Riviera represent a “magnet” for tourism.  Almost a third of buyers from the United States and Canada prefer it here.  This region, together the Mayan Riviera and Los Cabos, are the areas where most properties will be sold this year in Mexico. 

30% OF SALES OF NEW RESIDENCES FOR TOURISTS WILL BE CONCENTRATED IN THIS REGION.  The area of Banderas Bay will grab 30% of the sales of new residences for tourists this year which sales are made in the principal destinations of the country, according to estimates released by the Federal Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR).  A study made by this organization established that Puerto Vallarta and the Nayarit Riviera have become a true magnet for foreign tourists, Americans and Canadians that acquire their second home in Mexico, especially among the most important beach destinations in the country.  The study noted that Canadian tourism has grown insofar as the acquisition of second homes in the region of Banderas Bay, which is made up of the municipalities of Puerto Vallarta in the State of Jalisco and Banderas Bay in the State of Nayarit.

Source: Vallarta Opina

Posted on May 2nd, 2008 by Tropicasa
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 by Jesse Emspak

Investors who took the long view on exchange traded funds in 1998 were rewarded if they went overseas.

Nine of the 10 ETFs with the biggest yearly returns tracked overseas markets, according to Lipper data. Of those nine, four were in emerging markets.

The winner of the group is iShares MSCI Mexico (NYSEArca:EWW - News), which pulled in an annualized 16.99% through April 17. The S&P 500 returned 3.88% a year over the same span.

IShares MSCI Mexico tracks the Bolsa Mexicana, the country’s stock exchange. It’s relatively concentrated, with about 25% of the ETF weighting in America Movil (NYSE:AMX - News). America Movil has an IBD Composite Rating of 93, and seems to be forming a base.

Like many Latin American economies, Mexico has had steady, if modest, growth in the last decade.

The country also is exporting more to Europe and Asia as trade ties have grown and the peso has fallen in tandem with the dollar.

Second Best

The next best returns come from iShares MSCI Australia (NYSEArca:EWA - News), which clocked in at 13.76%.

Its biggest holding is BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP - News), which took up 13.68% of the assets as of March 31. The ETF is less concentrated than its Mexican counterpart, though still more so than an S&P fund.

The top five holdings after BHP are Australian banks such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The credit crunch has hurt Australia’s finance sector, but that is recent. For the past few years rising commodity prices have fueled growth.

It even reached the point where the central bank considered raising interest rates rather than cutting them.

Other developed markets in the top 10 were Austria, Canada, Spain and France. They were in third, fourth, seventh and 10th place, respectively.

Dollar’s Fall

Some of that performance has come as the dollar has slid against the euro and the loonie.

In 1998, the dollar was 1.08 euros and the loonie was 70 cents. Now the euro is worth $1.56 and the Canadian dollar is 98 cents.

The U.S. stock ETF that performed in the top 10 — in eighth place — is MidCap SPDRs (AMEX:MDY - News), returning 9.09% per year. Six of the 10 heaviest weighted stocks are energy companies.

But the index also includes health care, technology and industrials in the top 10.

Its biggest weighting is in industrial materials at 16.20% as of Feb. 29.

While Brazil and China wowed investors in 2007, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong brought results over 10 years.

IShares MSCI Malaysia Index (NYSEArca:EWM - News) returned 11.47% and iShares MSCI Singapore Index (NYSEArca:EWS - News) brought 11.05%. IShares MSCI Hong Kong Index Fund (NYSEArca:EWH - News)was 8.72%, in ninth place behind MidCap SPDRs.

Original at yahoo

Posted on May 2nd, 2008 by Tropicasa
Filed under: News | No Comments »

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By Richard Katzman and Jane Rogers
Monday, 21st April 2008

Foreign investment in Mexican real estate is on the rise and many favorable factors conspire to keep this trend moving forward.
 
Investors and developers are increasingly looking to Mexico as a land of opportunity. While Mexico’s economy is closely tied to that of the United States and is expected to be impacted in some measure by the current slowdown, the financial crisis in the U.S. has not yet had any significant repercussions on Mexico’s economic activity or international trade.

Over the past 15 years, as Mexico has increasingly drawn foreign investment, the appeal of real estate as an asset class has continuously grown.

Secure prospects and government incentives

Developers and investors have a tendency to take a longer-term perspective with regard to their activities in Mexico. This is due in part to several key trend lines that support investment in Mexico’s real estate sector and, more specifically, in lodging and tourism.

Mexico is host to the development of numerous master-planned projects offering legal certainty, quality infrastructure, ample amenities, and development platforms for hotel and residential developers.

Like those in the U.S., urban and resort markets in Mexico have witnessed a marked increase in projects combining hotel and residential components. In addition, the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines of Mexico are increasingly viewed as prime destinations for upscale developments.

Tourism and resort residential development are a national priority for Mexico. The country’s regulatory framework fully backs foreign ownership in the majority of ventures, including real estate, allowing 100% participation in shared capital. Mexican laws governing foreign investment provide legal guarantees and offer investment security.

The legal mechanism also simplifies the paperwork involved in registering foreign investments, as well as the unrestricted repatriation of profits, bonuses, dividends, and interest payments. In addition, title insurance similar to that offered in the U.S. is now widely available for purchasers of large sites and individual housing units alike.

More industry, more demand

According to the Secretaría de Turismo, Mexico received approximately $3.5 billion USD in private tourism investment in 2007, an increase of 11.12% over 2006. Foreign investment, particularly from Spain and the U.S., accounted for 43.76% of the total. Mexico has consistently been one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment in all economic sectors among emerging markets.

As industry expands in several cities in northern and central Mexico, so does the demand for lodging, particularly in the limited- and focused-service segments that cater to business travelers. Relatively few hotels outside of the resort destinations are branded, offering an excellent opportunity for both domestic and international brands to obtain growing market share.

In urban areas, the development of mixed-use projects that combine hotel and residential uses with office and/or retail components present another opportunity for growth.

For the second consecutive year, condominium construction has outpaced that of hotels. According to the housing consulting firm Softec Mexico, sales of tourist housing in 2007 totaled 18,000 units, an increase of 52.5% as compared to the previous year.

Puerto Vallarta occupied the lead position in sales; other areas that demonstrated dynamic activity included Los Cabos, Puerto Peñasco, Acapulco, Cancún, Riviera Nayarit, and Playa del Carmen. Approximately 80% of the beachfront housing was purchased by foreigners, principally from the U.S. and Canada.

Mixed-use developments including hotel and residential components are expected to multiply with Mexico’s flourishing status as a second-home and retirement market for U.S. and Canadian baby boomers.

In fact, Mexico ranked at the pinnacle of the 2007 Global Retirement Index, published by International Living. Consumer confidence in buying residential property in Mexico is bolstered by the increasing availability of title insurance policies issued by U.S.-based companies.

Outlook

Some challenges do impose on Mexico’s attractive investment climate. The biggest obstacle to ongoing activity will likely be the tightening of credit markets in the U.S. and Mexico.

Loan-to-value ratios are expected to be reduced, and loans will be made on a more selective basis, factors that are bound to stifle development to some extent. However, investment and development platforms take a longer-term view, and in this light are somewhat less focused on and less vulnerable to the possible impact of a slowdown in the very short term.

The outlook for real estate development and investment in Mexico is, therefore, relatively sunny and streaked with the colors of a variety of prospects, from hotels to residences in urban to resort locales. Moreover, based on current trends and the government’s inviting stance, foreign investments stand on solid ground.

About Richard Katzman
Richard Katzman is Managing Director for HVS Mexico City, which was established in 2007. He has been active in Mexico and other Latin America countries since 1992. During this period, Richard formed Grupo Inmobiliario Inova, a real estate advisory boutique that merged in 2001 with Insignia/ESG, then among the most prominent real estate service companies in the world. In 2003, following the merger between Insignia/ESG and CB Richard Ellis, Richard elected to reestablish an independent platform prior to joining HVS in 2007. Richard was born and raised in Mexico City. He completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration, and received his MBA from The Wharton School. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Contact Richard at  +52 55 5245-7590 or katz...@hvs.com.

About Jane Rogers
Jane is a Senior Project Manager for the HVS Dallas/Fort Worth and Mexico City offices and is a primary manager for Mexico and Central America consulting assignments. Jane earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and has completed graduate work at Texas Woman’s University; she is multilingual in English, Spanish, and French. Jane has held positions in both food and beverage operations and hotel rooms divisions, including the position of reservations manager for Hilton Hotels and Resorts. Contact Jane at (214) 724-7995 or jrog...@hvs.com. www.hvs.com  

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Posted on April 23rd, 2008 by Tropicasa
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