February 2012
With soda sales flattening, the market focuses on water
Submitted by mexbiznews on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 4:29am
By Ivan Castano / Forbes
In Mexico City most restaurants won’t give you a glass of tap water. Drinking fountains? A rarity. Having dinner with friends? They’ll hand you a plastic bottle.
It isn’t just tourists who won’t drink the water in Mexico. It’s nearly everyone, making the country one of the most valuable markets in the world for beverage companies. Mexicans are the world’s biggest drinkers of soda, putting away 166 liters of the bubbly stuff per person in 2010, and of bottled water, chugging down 248 liters per capita in 2011.
With growth in the soda segment flattening out, in part due to government antiobesity campaigns (soda sales have been banned in schools), the growth and competition are in water, where market leader Danone is fighting it out with Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
www.forbes.com/sites/ivancastano/2012/02/22/mexicos-water-war/
Ferrero to build chocolate factory in Guanajuato
Sentido Comun - Ferrero, the Italian chocolate maker, said it will invest $190 million to build a manufacturing plant in San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato. The factory, which will employ 500 workers, will produce Nutella and Kinder products.
Agriculture extends $145 million to Coahuila
Sentido Comun - The Ministry of Agriculture reported that it signed an agreement with the Coahuila state government to invest $143.9 million in grants for investment in equipment and infrastructure, natural resource sustainability and health services.
More European tourists expected this year
Sentido Comun - Authorities and entrepreneurs engaged in tourism services expected a greater number of European tourists to visit Mexico this year, based on plans to increase the number of charter flights.
www.sentidocomun.com.mx/breves.phtml
13 companies plan to list stocks on bolsa this year
CNNExpansión - Thirteen companies plan to sell shares on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) this year. The firms include Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en América Latina (IDEAL), ABC Aerolíneas (Interjet) and Alfra subsidiary Alpek.
www.cnnexpansion.com/negocios/2012/02/22/bmv-espera-13-colocaciones-de-capital
Mexico arrests prison officials after deadly riot
RTTNews - Authorities in Mexico have arrested 29 officials of a prison where a deadly riot resulted in the death of dozens of inmates and a jail-break early this week, media reports citing officials said late on Wednesday.
www.rttnews.com/1826093/mexico-arrests-prison-officials-over-deadly-riot.aspx
Boxer Marquez fined for wearing PRI logo in fight
Associated Press — Mexico’s election commission says its members have unanimously voted to fine Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez for wearing the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s logo on his trunks during a match broadcast last year.
Inflation eases slightly in early February
Reuters - Mexico inflation eased slightly in early February to 4.01 percent, down slightly from the 4.15 percent recorded in January but still above the central bank's ceiling. Consumer prices rose 0.07 percent in the first half of the month.
www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/mexico-economy-idUSL4E8DN60U20120223
G20 finance ministers to hold crisis meeting in Mexico
Business Recorder - G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will meet this weekend in Mexico City to discuss the eurozone debt crisis in the wake of the latest European rescue plan for Greece.
Bimbo's 4th quarter profit falls 26 percent
Dow Jones - Mexican baked goods company Grupo Bimbo SAB said its fourth-quarter net profit decreased 26 percent on the year to 1.01 billion pesos ($79 million), a reflection of the company's operating performance and higher effective tax rate.
www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/02/22/mexicos-bimbo-4q-net-profit-down-26-on-operations-taxes/
