Foreign direct investment in Latin America fell 25% year-on-year in the first six months of 2020, according to a United Nations report.
Exports: from January to September there was a fall of $2 bn compared to 2019
The pandemic caused a 29% drop in domestic exports, from January to September, compared to a similar period in 2019, resulting in a $2 billion reduction.
Builders report the debt of $286.9 million
The Departmental Chamber of Construction of La Paz, denounced that to date the government and the sub-national governments do not cancel the debt of Bs. 2 billion ($286.9 mn) for completed works. The construction companies are in economic crisis without being able to pay their bills owed to their workers and sub-contracted companies and are asking the new president-elect, Luis Arce Catacora, to attend to the demands for payment.
IMF forecasts a 7.9% drop in GDP by 2020 and 5.6% growth by 2021
The latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) brings good prospects for Bolivia in 2021. For next year, the agency expects the country to have a 5.6% growth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Concerning 2020, the IMF forecasts that the national economy will contract by 7.9%. IMF improved the projection for Latin America and the Caribbean; it would fall of 8.1% for this year due to the impact of the coronavirus.
Fuel imports fell by 60.9% in nine months
Up to September, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), fuel purchases, especially liquid ones, fell by up to 60.9% compared to the same period in 2019, with acquisitions reaching $451.8 million. Bolivia is a large importer of liquid fuels, and during the month of September, the country registered problems with the supply of diesel, the most affected region being Santa Cruz.
Builders’ crisis and the Covid-19 leave 250,000 workers without jobs
The Bolivian Chamber of Construction (Caboco) states that construction is in a strong recession and that the projection of figures is critical. To date, only 28% of companies in the sector have updated their registrations, 250,000 jobs have lost and the accumulated debt of more than Bs 2 billion ($286.9 mn) of the State with construction companies for the last year persists. It foresees a contraction of 18% of the construction sector.
FIE Bank allocated $10 mn for 40,000 borrowers
In the quarantine, FIE Bank allocated $10 million to benefit some 40,000 borrowers who required capital to address the health crisis. Agriculture is one of the main niches of business, Banco FIE has an agricultural portfolio of $us 365 million, of which more than half ($us 195 million) placed in Santa Cruz.
Liquidity in the financial system grows by 6%
According to data from the Financial System Supervisory Authority (ASFI), the liquidity of the financial system reached Bs 54.7 billion ($7.85 bn). The figure represents a growth of 5.99%, concerning the same period in 2010.
Hydrocarbon exports fell by 41% and mineral exports by 23%
Hydrocarbon exports fell by 41% and mineral exports by 23% year-on-year between January and September 2020. Other sectors that registered a drastic fall in this period were textile apparel with a 64% drop, jewellery -37%, leather -36% and chestnuts -23%. Beef exports tripled their sales with a growth of 219%, followed by the export of sunflower and derivatives with 46%, cocoa with 28%, coffee 18% and milk 18% growth.
Government guarantees financing of two mn dollars for Sucre Cretaceous Park
The Government guaranteed this Friday the financing of 2 million dollars for the first phase of the expansion of the Cretaceous Park, in the city of Sucre. The addition of the Cretaceous Park, which will occupy 2.7 hectares, is financed, in its first phase, by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
