In February, I reported on the financial results for the major players in the Latin American region, and noted that signs of an economic recovery were showing. (See “The Latin American Business Report,” CGI, February 2010, pp. 44–46.) This article presents an economic and industrial gas industry business summary for the year 2009, and takes a look at encouraging first quarter 2010 results.
Readers of my business reports will recall that the Latin American Region had enjoyed six consecutive years of growth. While as a whole, Latin American economies showed a decrease of 1.8 percent in 2009 — as a consequence of the international crisis that began in late 2008 — I am able to report that today the situation is improving, and the Latin American region is back on a growth track.
The Latin American Economy
Based on latest figures available from the International Monetary Fund (IMF, World Economic Outlook April 2010), the world output contracted 0.6 percent in 2009. GDP in advanced economies dropped by 3.2 percent, with the United States and the European Union falling by 2.4 percent and 4.1 percent respectively. China had robust growth of 8.7 percent and GDP in India grew by 5.7 percent.
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