By Laura Conaway
The worst of the economic crisis is over for Latin America, Augusto de la Torre, World Bank chief economist for the region, told the Americas Conference in Florida. De la Torre says Latin American could soon attract new foreign investment. From the Miami Herald:
"Latin America can actually help the world more than people think," he said, since its economy as a whole is almost as big as China but consumption is much larger.
On the other hand, Pamela Cox, World Bank vice president for Latin America, told the conference countries in the region will need to borrow $400 billion next year -- and it won't be easy to get. A companion report in the Herald quotes Cox as saying:
"It will not be simple, even for multilateral financial institutions used to this level of borrowing, among other things, because the capital available in developed countries is being used for their own stimulus measures."
Latin America countries owe combined $2.94 trillion in foreign debt. During the recession, employment has been high and exports have fallen. Cox credits new financial regulations for the region's avoiding of heavy bank failures and currency collapses.
categories: South America's Financial Crisis
