Friday, February 15, 2007

Ambassador Guillermo E. Rishchynski
Ambassador of Canada to Mexico
Formerly Ambassador to Brazil and Colombia

Date: Friday March 7th, 2008
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Location: Albany Club
91 King Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 1G3

Mr. Calin Ratis
International Trade Officer
Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce
T:416-595-5333 ext. 42
E: cratis@iecanada.com

International Mining Cafe

Odette Corbu, Trade Commissioner
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Ontario Region

You are cordially invited to the International Mining Café
At the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada International Convention – PDAC 2008

Date: Wednesday March 5, 2008
Time: 08:00a.m. - 16:30p.m.
Location: Hotel Intercontinental Toronto Centre, 225 Front Street West, Ball Rooms A & B

Organized by The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), this unique event will provide an opportunity to meet with DFAIT’s Trade Commissioners from around the world and other experts from government and the private sector. Businesses will be able to meet in one place at one time with the individuals who can assist them to access and expand their global mining reach.

This is a FREE event and you DO NOT have to be registered with PDAC 2008 to attend.

We have been contracted to coordinate all registrations for this event and to schedule individual meetings for you on the day. Should you require any additional information or clarification, please contact:

The Ministry of Economy, the Minister of Mines and the Trade Commissions of Mexico in Toronto and Vancouver, kindly invite you to a cocktail presentation to be held at the:

Date: March 4^th, 2008
Location: Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Regatta Room, One Harbour Square, Toronto, ON 5J 1A6
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00 pm

During the reception Mr. Eduardo Sojo, Minister of Economy will deliver a message on the prospects of the Mexican Economy and Mr. Norberto Roque, Minister of Mines, will present:

The reception is a good opportunity to gather information on the business environment in

Mexico

and the gamut of high potential mining projects waiting to be developed.

You are kindly requested to RSVP to Noris Pico plctor02@bancomext.gob.mx
phone ( 416) 867-9292 Ext. 28, fax (416) 867-1847

On behalf of the Colombian Government, I would like to take this opportunity to formally invite you to participate in an exclusive Agrobusiness Matchmaking Forum to be held in Cartagena on April 2^nd and 3th. The focus of AgroBizmatch 2008 is the Food industry covering both fresh and processed products. This is an initiative of the Colombian Government to provide a win-win situation for buyers from Canada, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, and Italy to find sourcing alternatives from our exporters. During these two days, pre-arranged meetings will take place with agendas prepared in advance with the help of our consultants and with the buyer’s approval. Each Business Matchmaking meeting allows international buyers to meet face-to-face with a group of carefully selected Colombian sources. Here are more reasons why you should not miss this event:

· This is not merely an opportunity to trade business cards, as it is the case with traditional trade shows.

· This forum in Cartagena is a unique occasion for Canadian Buyers looking to expand and grow your businesses by increasing your international sources with high quality products from more than 600 qualified exporters.

· A team of specialized professionals will be available to help you prepare your personal agenda for this business days.

AgroBizmatch 2008 will certainly increase business opportunities for you company. Please log-in to our website at www.agrobizmatch2008.com to register now. Space is limited to 20 Canadian Companies. Once your company is approved, you will receive written confirmation and one roundtrip airfare to Cartagena per company will be granted. For additional information, agendas and travel arrangements feel free to contact Rafael Vargas at 416 363-9225 rvargas@proexport.ca or Miss. Claudia Rico at crico@proexport.ca

6th Latin American Leadership Forum - 'Building the Global Network for Sustained Competitiveness & Opportunity'

Save the date! April 1-3, 2008 in Miami, Florida (just prior to the Annual Meetings of the Inter-American Development Bank).

Strategic Projects - The 6° Annual Leadership Forum hosts the Top 50 strategic infrastructure projects in Latin America, across 10 sectors - electricity generation, water/wastewater, ports & logistics, mining, urban mass transit, tourism, highways, oil & gas, 'new' infrastructure and strategic projects (those that most transform the region's competitiveness). The theme - "Building the Global Network for Sustained Competitiveness & Opportunity" - focuses on bringing global resources - and a vision of where the world is going - to the design and financing of the next generation of projects. 50 Project Presentations, each of 10-12 minutes, over two days!

CEO Forum - A new and innovative feature of the 6° Leadership Forum is the participation of 10 key infrastructure decision-makers from around the globe, including 5 CEO's and an equal number of heads of state. Presentations will be both live and interactive, and pre-taped, focusing on why Latin America needs to quadruple its investment in infrastructure, how that is going to happen, and who is going to benefit - over 30 years!

Private Meetings - Private Meetings will go live on January 31, 2008. Each registrant in the Forum has the right to schedule up to 15 private meetings, each of 15 minutes in length, with project presenters, sponsors, and participating CEO's. This evolving model has proven highly successful. As one participant in our recent Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum said "this works great, I make my numbers every year at your meetings - and since you started our revenues have grown 20 times!"

"Deep Dives" - Increasingly the Leadership Forum provides context for private sector participants, and a strong feedback loop for the public sector, through workshops, roundtables and breakfasts, all organized by sponsors and focused on specific topics. Last year's successful workshops included a World Economic Forum event on infrastructure financing; for this year the 'deep dives' will focus on Brazil, South American and IIRSA, "What is Really Going on in the Region's Infrastructure - Winning and Losing Sectors, Countries and Regions," and "Making the DR/Cafta Competitive."

World Class Sponsors - Key sponsors for the 6° Annual Latin American Leadership Forum include the following: Platinum - Banco Centro-Americano de Integración Regional, CEI-RD Gold -- Banco do Brasil, CitiBank, Export Development Canada; MIGA - World Bank Group, and Panalpina.

CG/LA Infrastructure LLC
1730 Rhode Island Ave., NW
Suite 707
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 776-0990
Fax: (202) 776-0994
Email: nfa@cg-la.com

Av. Paulista, 2, 202 Cj 61
Sao Paulo, S.P. 01310 300, Brazil
Tel: 55 11 3285-2055
Fax: 55 11 3285-2967

The International Economic Forum of the Americas - The Great Transition: Mastering Change

The International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal has as its principal mission the promotion of wide-ranging and completely open discussion of the major international economic issues. It also aims at facilitating the creation of contacts between representatives of businesses, governments and international agencies as well as members of the academic world and civic society, thereby encouraging international exchanges.

Minister Emerson met with Mercedes Aráoz Fernandez, Peruvian Minister of International Trade and Tourism, on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to mark the conclusion of free trade negotiations with Peru which began in July, 2007.

"Peru has emerged as one of the most dynamic economies in the Americas, supported by an aggressive commerce agenda and clear stance in favour of trade liberalization," said Minister Emerson. "This FTA with Peru will further solidify our trade and investment relationship and open up opportunities for Canadian business in a range of sectors, including agriculture, natural resources and services."

Peru will provide greater market access for a range of Canadian agricultural products, as well as paper products and machinery and equipment. Agreement has also been reached with respect to cross-border trade in services in sectors of interest to Canada including mining, energy and professional services.

Through this FTA, greater stability, transparency and protection for Canadian investments in Peru has been achieved, building on the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement signed by the two countries in 2006.

"Peru is a growing destination for Canadian investment," added Minister Emerson. "This FTA will create a more receptive environment for Canadian investors while increasing the prosperity of Peruvians."

Provisions with respect to environmental protection, biodiversity and corporate social responsibility are included in an environment agreement. For the first time in Canadian FTA negotiations, agreement has also been reached on the establishment of a Trade Related Cooperation Committee to oversee trade-related capacity building activities associated with the FTA.

A Labour Cooperation Agreement, which includes enforcement obligations and associated penalties, has also been negotiated.

"I have seen first-hand, how Peru is committed to improving labour conditions in their country," said Minister Blackburn. "This is the most comprehensive labour cooperation agreement ever negotiated by Canada."

In 2006, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Peru totalled CDN$2.4 billion. Canada is also one of Peru's most important sources of foreign direct investment in the mining sector, and among the largest overall foreign investors with an estimated CDN$2.9 billion of investment stock as of 2006. In 2004, Canadian commercial services exports to Peru totalled approximately CDN$46 million.

Comprehensive consultations were undertaken with Canadians which indicated broad support for an FTA with Peru. In order for this treaty to be implemented, a full legal review of the texts will be required before signature and before proceeding with legislative processes in each country.

The conclusion of this FTA with Peru builds on Prime Minister Harper's commitment to reviving and expanding Canadian political and economic engagement in the Americas, which is a major foreign policy goal of the Government of Canada.

This Agreement with Peru also builds on the success of Canada's existing FTAs with the U.S. and Mexico (NAFTA), with Chile, with Israel and with Costa Rica. Together, these countries represent a market of 459 million consumers, with a combined GDP of CDN$16.4 trillion. Two-way trade with these countries totalled CDN$604 billion in 2006, which represents 72% of Canada's foreign trade.

Coro Mining to Acquire Copper Mine in Chile in US40-million Deal
(Canadian Press)

Coro Mining Corp. entered an exclusive option agreement to acquire Cerro Negro copper mine in Chile worth over 40 million dollars (US).

The terms of the agreement give Coro the option of one hundred percent ownership of Compania Minera Cerro Negro, under several conditions.

According to Canadian Press, "The company said the existing resource estimate at the mine doesn't meet Canadian standards and Coro will aims to do the work necessary to comply with a National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate before exercising its option."

ING Sells Mexican Non-Core Insurance Business to AXA for EUR 1.0 Bln
(ING News)

ING Group has made an agreement with AXA to sell part of its Mexican business, Seguros ING SA de CV and subsidiaries, to allow ING to focus on its existing Mexican pension (Afore) and other businesses.

ING SA is valued at 1.5 billion dollars ( US), and according to ING News, Michel Tilmant, Chairman of the Executive Board of ING Group said, "This divestment is part of ING's strategy to focus its activities on its core expertise of banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services. ING continues to accelerate the redeployment of its capital in line with this strategy."

ING Mexico's Afore business is the third largest pension provider in Mexico, while ING is the second largest pension provider in the region, with approximately 22 million clients.

Leasing of Wireless Phone Lines ( Costa Rica project valued at US$193 ml)
(Global Infrastructure and Competitiveness Leadership)

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), a telephone company, will buy 1.5 million of “third generation lines” with a credit from BCIE.

The objective is to service the new technological demand. Commercialization of this service is planned to begin in 2009.

BCIE, who analyzes a credit of US$225m for ICE, is in charge of launching an international bidding process, selecting the winner, and buying the equipments following the technical specifications from ICE who will lease such lines from BCIE (with an option to buy the lines in the future).

Mexico 's economic growth is slowing gradually and the country is well prepared to weather a slump in the U.S., Mexican Central Bank Governor Guillermo Ortiz said.

" Mexico has laid the ground work to improve its economic growth potential substantially," Ortiz said today at a LatinFinance conference in Mexico City.

Ortiz said that the economies of Latin America and the U.S. are still intertwined, and a slowdown in the U.S. will inevitably affect emerging markets.

Long-term inflation expectations are well anchored in Mexico, he added. Prices for energy may moderate as the world economy slows, Ortiz said.

Guatemala Northern Highway (project valued at US$207 ml)
(Global Infrastructure and Competitiveness Leadership)

The Ministry of Communications, Transportation and Housing of Guatemala (MCTH) opened up a bidding process for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a 2 lane, 362 km ( 226 miles) highway that will cross Guatemala from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mexican Border on the Western part of the country.

Under the provisions for this project, the winner of the bid will be awarded a 30 year contract with the MCTH, by which the Guatemalan Government is obliged to pay no more that $20 million dollars to the concessionaire once the highway has been built in its entirety.

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Disclaimer – CCA Update is provided as an information service to our members and key contacts. It is designed to provide the most up-to-date trade information from a variety of sources. The information we feature does not necessarily reflect the Council’s opinion on a given international trade issue. Although we endeavour to disclose accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. The Canadian Council for the Americas cannot assume any responsibility for actions taken solely or principally on the basis of information provided.