FINAL MOVE -- GOTO---- chinasouthamerica.blogspot.com for future updates

Final decision has been made to operate this New and Analysis blog from its original URL. Please check for updates there.

http://chinasouthamerica.blogspot.com

South-South Cooperation: Venezuela's PDVSA begins drilling in Bolivia's Vibora Field

Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), announced today one of its oil rigs began operations in Bolivia. Drilling is reported to have begun in the Vibora field, roughly 170 km north of the city of Santa Cruz.


Not a bad headline for Morales and his supporters who voted "yes" for a new constitution just days ago which allows for Morales to run beyond his term limits and which is partly designed to empower indiginous rights.

Direct flights open between Peru and Cuba! -- Andina reports

Lima, Jan. 26 (ANDINA).- TACA Airlines will begin flying directly between Lima (Peru) and Havana (Cuba) in the first quarter of 2009.

Beginning on March 23rd, TACA will fly three times a week on the Lima-Havana route to meet the growing demand from travelers.

Click here to access the full article from Andina

Latin America in focus: Commodities, food and South-South Cooperation (delayed post from Oct 30)

1) Brazil Petrobras agrees to explore for oil offshore Cuba – Benito's take

Brazil frequently enjoys assuming the role as a leader in the developing world of promoting South-South Cooperation.  This time the nation has agreed to help Cuba explore for oil and gas. Brazil's Petrobras is expected to sign an agreement with Cuba for deep-water oil and gas exploration during President Lula da Silva's two day visit to the island this week.

Cuban media is reporting both sides will “sign a contract for the production of hydrocarbons.” No further details have been reported, but the Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque has stated he “anticipates Cuba will sign in the presence of Lula da Silva a very important agreement for oil exploration in deep water.”

Although the details are shady at best, it no less is a sign of Brazil further developing its reach in promoting economic cooperation among developing nations, with the pretext of mutual economic development.

To read more about this development check out this article published by Merco Press.



2) Petrobras Transpetro unit won't delay 49-tanker plan (update 2) courtesy of Bloomberg LP

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The transport unit of Petroleo Brasileiro SA will be able to maintain a 49-ship fleet expansion program because it has sufficient financing from a government fund and can ignore the world credit crunch, the unit's president said.

Brazil's Merchant Marine Fund, managed by state-development bank BNDES, has enough cash to pay the $2.5 billion needed for 26 tankers that have already been ordered, said Sergio Machado, president of Rio de Janeiro-based Transpetro, as the unit is known. The fund can also finance another 23 ships that will be ordered by the end of the year, he said.

State-controlled Petrobras, as Transpetro's parent is known, may delay some investments as oil prices fall and credit becomes scarce, Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli said Oct. 20. The credit crunch may force the cancellation of 20 percent of the deepwater oil rigs under construction, Brian Uhlmer, analyst at Pritchard Capital Partners in Houston, said.

``Everything regarding our shipbuilding program is defined and is part of Brazil's strategic plan,'' Machado said in a phone interview from his office. ``The Transpetro program is fully financed.''

Click here to access the full article from Bloomberg LP



3) Favorable 2009 beef export prospects for Brazil and Argentina, courtesy of Merco Press

Beef exports are forecast to rise nearly 2% during 2009 as gains by Brazil, Argentina and the United States outweigh downturns in Australian and New Zealand shipments according to the US Cattle network.

As the world’s leading trader Brazilian exports are forecast to spring back nearly 5% to over 2.0 million tons. Shipments are projected to decline in 2008 for the first time since 1996. However, by overcoming sanitary barriers, it is now poised to regain sales to Chile, EU-27 and other key markets...

...

In Argentina exports are forecast to expand 20% to 480,000 tons in 2009 after plummeting an expected 25% in 2008.

The rebound stems from the Argentine government setting a higher export quota, cattle and beef supplies not expected to be limited by farmer strikes, and thermo-processed product to be exported outside of the quota.

Click here to access the full article from Merco Press



4) Venezuela books 10.252 billion barrels more in oil reserves, courtesy of Dow Jones Newswires

Venezuela said Wednesday it was adding 10.251 billion barrels of crude to its national reserves as part of an ongoing review of its hydrocarbon reserves.

With this increase, the oil-rich country's total reserves now amount to 152.561 billion, making Venezuela the country with the second largest crude reserves, the Venezuelan oil ministry said in a statement.

Click here to access the full article from Rigzone
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=68576

5) Chile trims 2008 copper output forecast again, courtesy of the Mining-Journal

Chile on Wednesday trimmed its 2008 copper output forecast for the second time since July, this time to 5.45Mt, citing operational issues but not slumping prices for the metal.

Limited financing due to the global credit crisis may delay or cancel some new projects, said Eduardo Titelman, executive vice-president of Chile`s state copper commission Cochilco, one of the world`s leading copper think-tanks.

Copper prices rose above US$2/lb on Wednesday, but they remained less than half the record levels of over US$4/lb hit in July. A global credit crunch and fears the world could enter a recession have hit demand for metals like copper, heavily used in the auto and construction industries.

Click here to access the full article from the Mining-Journal

http://www.mining-journal.com/Breaking_News.aspx?breaking_news_article_id=5174

你好 读者（Ni hao duzhe）-- Hello readers

I must apologize to all those who once counted on this blog for perspectives, news, analysis and all the rest that used to be provided on a daily basis.  Sadly Internet restrictions and lack of access in the far east have made it difficult, sometimes impossible to access blogger. 

I write to you from the beautiful, bustling, urbanized yet serene city of Suzhou, China.  

(Click here to check out some nice pics from the cities official website)

I had planned to keep this website going strong during my year long stay in China.  Sadly, it is incredibly difficult to update from here.  I will continue to try, and I have a new internet connection arriving in a few days, which I hope will allow me more privileges as I am being forced to provide everything down to my blood type in order to obtain (hehe).

While my connection lasts i'll get what word I can out.  Everyday as I check in with the world via my blackberry I see stock markets plummeting, governments hosting meeting to address the crises, blame being dealt left and right, and my portfolio sadly decrease in value more and more.

While on this side of the Pacific, many express concern and legitimate worry that something horrible is on the verge of beginning (a global recession).  Meanwhile, from a rational point of view, I don't exactly see the world crumbling into pieces.  Buildings are still going up, the malls in China are full, people are swiping their credit cards, mortgages are being taken to buy apartments and houses, and people have generally remained hopeful of a brighter future.

Whether it will still be like this 6 months from now when the economic problems of the West more fully manifest, I can not tell.  What I can say for certain is it is not in China or any other emerging market of Asia's interest to see the United States and Europe come tumbling down. There is still tremendous room for China to grow, and grow it will.  Factories which produce goods for export to the West will shut, but the economy will re-adjust with a heavier focus on the domestic front.  

Just as the United States has centers of economic activity - New York, California, Texas, etc, so does China.  Beijing, Shanghai, the Southern Coast, the rebuilding of Sichuan will dominate China's economy on the surface in the months to come.  

Yes, hardships will probably become more obvious in the poorer regions of the country in the months to come, but they will not dictate the course of China's economy.  I have come to learn, China can not grow to infinity on its own, if it could, my Chinese stocks would not be hurting so greatly right now.  China can however soften the impact it will feel from the global financial meltdown underway right now.  

After researching, analyzing and attempting to no avail to decipher the commodity trade between China and South America, one thing I can say for certain is that the recent plunge in commodity prices will help China continue to prosper, not hurt it.  Record high prices of everything from copper, iron ore to energy had become a genuine problem for many industries here in Asia.  

In the coming months it will be interesting to see how and if a new balance can be established, and where prices will settle.  I'll leave my personal observations here, and I hope to be able to soon be in a position where I can begin bringing news, analysis and my personal observations to all readers of this site.

Dear Readers --

I must apologize for the lack of good quality updates these past few weeks. New responsibilities and traveling have kept me busy and left me little time to be a news hound to the extent I have been this past year or so.

As a result I've decided to start a new routine with this website. I will from this point forth make updates 2-4 times a week. The new style and form of these updates will consist of various links to news worthy stories from the previous days concerning commodities, south-south cooperation, international finanance, political developments (focusing on China and South America) and other relevant events from online media/ scholarly writings. Each post will also include my own personal analysis of the news articles and or about the underlying topic from their content.

I also wanted to mention that as of September 15th I will be moving out East. I begin a short trip to Singapore and Japan for 2 weeks on the 15th and will eventually be settling up shop in China in early October. I look forward to providing the best analysis of this rising, commodity hungry super-power from the ground up to all readers.

Of course you may begin to notice less links to places such as BBC, CNN (whom I don't think I've really ever used as a source here since I despise them by and large), and more links to Chinese media and other media sources that use content from AP, Reuters or Bloomberg but don't rise the same red flag some sites illicit when trying to be accessed from China. (I may even end up deleting this post before I get there). China is a great country, and despite my love of fast and free internet one must respect the rules of ones host-- that is the sensitive barriers the country has in place to prevent "un-desirable" content from being published or accessed on the web.

Thanks and apologies to my daily readers that I will no longer be able to provide "breaking news" updates. I do promise to up the quality of my analysis and keep you posted with good news you won't hear about as you watch the mind-numbing media of today's world (CNN, Fox News I mean you).

APEC economies continue efforts to establish Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area

APEC is pushing to see the creation of a Free Trade Area in including all nations in the Asia-Pacific region. It would definitely be interesting to see a true Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific region in operation. However, many obstacles remain as to what such "free trade pact" should entail-- especially since it will include many countries.

I personally question how it will over-lap, conflict, or work in tandem with the various Free Trade Agreements already in existence and established by countries of Asia-Pacific region.

For instance, will this further hinder regional economic cooperation from the Andean Community or Mercosur in South America?

Will the already established FTA agreement between Chile and China and the one currently being negotiate by Peru with China cover different issues than a pan-asia one which includes China?

Updates to come after I do some digging into some of these questions and others.

Click here to access a full story pertaining to this topic, courtesey of Andina.com (Peruvian Press).

Souh-South Cooperation: Ecuador and Chile join forces to explore for gas in Guayaguil Gulf

“The board of Petroecuador has accepted the proposal for a new joint company with ENAP”, said Mines and Petroleum minister Galo Chiriboga in Quito.

The minister added that the new joint company will “boost gas exploration in the gulf of Guayaquil”, to the southwest of Ecuador where primary surveys have indicated the possibility of significant natural gas deposits.

Petroecuador is also involved in a similar undertaking with Venezuela’s PDVSA, with the purpose of searching for gas in an adjacent area in the gulf.

.............................

Click here to access the full story from MercoPress

Ecuador, Venezuela agree to build biggest oil refinery in South America, and.... on the Pacific Coast!

Mercopress reports Rafael Correa, the Ecuadorian president, and Hugo Chavez, his Venezuelan counterpart, have entered into an agreement to build the biggest oil refinery on South America's Pacific coast.

Correa and Chavez

"Instead of having refineries in the United States, we decided to keep them here in our geopolitical context," Chavez said.

Chavez hopes to wean Venezuelan crude away from the US, where Venezuela currently runs seven refineries.

The joint 6.6 billion dollar project by state-run oil firms PDVSA, of Venezuela, and Petroecuador, of Ecuador, will refine 300,000 barrels of crude a day, saving Ecuador 3.0 billion dollars in oil imports a year, Correa said

Click here to access the full story from Mercopress

Leaders of the BRIC Countries show signs of solidarity at the G-8 meeting in Hokkaido, Japan

China's foreign media is reporting Hu Jintao's participation in the G-8 summit this week as a milestone, calling it a "major diplomatic move which produces important achievements in many aspects for China."

Click here to access the full story from Xinhua-- China's State Media

Through the G8 outreach session in recent years, communications between the world's developed and developing countries have been conducted on key issues to coordinate stance and seek solutions to key issues, a move deemed conducive to the South-North cooperation and the settlement of global problems reports Xinhua.

It is interesting how China's state media describes Hu Jintao's presence at the G-8. Western press has been very critical as to why China, India and other emerging markets are not included in the some of the more important meetings which only the actual G-8 member countries can attend.

It is clear developing countries have gained some influence in the international arena. The global food crises, energy crises, climate change and other important issues can no longer be left to debate soely amongst the world's industrialized and wealthiest nations.

Described both in this upate and in my post yesterday, developing countries are increasingly forming their own strong connections with one another. The leaders of the BRIC countries; Brazil, Russia, India and China can be seen below expressing their solidarity at the end of the G-8 summit. These four emerging market giants want to make it clear that on certain issues they stand united and that when united their voice should not and can not be ignored.

After all, accounting for only the populations of the BRIC countries, these four nations represent roughly 2.7 billion people...

Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R), Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (2nd L), Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (1st L) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (1st R) pose for a photo as they meet at Toyako in Hokkaido, north Japan, on July 9, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico meet to discuss increasing "South-South cooperation," among developing countries

Chinese President Hu Jintao put froward four main areas in which developing countries could cooperate and coordinate to promote development of the "global south."

Hu Jintao stated China and the four other developing countries in which he met with have "vast potential for cooperation." He also stressed the "importance of strengthening solidarity and cooperation."

Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) pose for photos with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (1st R), Mexican President Felipe Calderon (C), Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (2nd L) and South African President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki before their meeting in Sapporo, northern Japan, July 8, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)


*** Click here to access the full story from Xinhua, China's state media

It is clear the influence of the "G-8" is quickly fading. Despite the economic and political influence in which the the world's richest nations still maintain in the world, developing nations have begun their ascent in the World Economy.

China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa together are in their own respect the leaders of their own respective continents... at least in terms of size and economic might.

This recent development is only one example of how emerging markets are increasingly finding strength from one another markets and respective economic growth, as opposed to relying on demand and markets in the developed world.

PetroVietnam and Petroecuador sign strategic energy cooperation agreement

PetroVietnam, Petroecuador sign a strategic agreement to start cooperating in oil and gas field exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and trading said state media on Saturday in Hanoi, Vietnam.

(Click here to view full article from smartmoney.com)

The agreement will be valid for two years, which really makes it more of a "test" to see if the two countries national oil companies can function efficiently with one another. Two years in reality is a short time period if they hope to accomplish all the above listed cooperation objectives. It will no less allow the two countries to see if this new strategic alliance is worth pursuing.

It is refreshing to read news of cooperation between countries in South America and other Asian countries aside from the China. China is undoubtedly the "juggernaut" of Asia's emerging markets, but it is hardly alone, and developments such as this are proof that South America will grow closer to Asia as a whole with time... not just the PRC (China).

China-South America Trade and Finance will continue to monitor this development between Vietnam and Ecuador, and post updates to keep readers up to date on this new trans-pacific alliance.