rediff.com BS Regional Bureau in Mumbai | May 20, 2003 15:33 IST

Latin America, where prices of medicines are 3-20 times higher than in India, will be the focus of the Confederation of Indian Industry's meet in Mumbai and Hyderabad, to be held on Monday and Tuesday.

The representatives from the drugs and pharmaceuticals industry in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela will interact with Indian pharmaceutical companies.

A CII release issued in Mumbai said: "Senior representatives from formulation laboratories, importers of formulated pharmaceuticals, importers of bulk drugs and major drugs and pharmaceutical distributors from Latin America will attend the meet."

The region has emerged as one of the fastest growing export destinations of India with many countries recording substantial gross domestic product growth in the recent past.

The region presents a combined market of 508 million people in 33 countries, 75 per cent of which are urban.

Latin America's imports increased three times from $113 billion in 1991 to $332 billion in 2002, and its share of world imports have gone up from 3.7 per cent in 1990 to 6.1 per cent in 2001.

Trade between India and Latin America has increased from $473.66 million in 1991-92 to $2445.44 million in 2001-02.

India enjoys a fair share of this market as a supplier of bulk drugs, drug intermediates and generics including generic formulations.

Since most Latin American countries do not produce bulk drugs, India has become a regular supplier. "Finished formulations from India are being widely used in this region. Recent policy changes in the region and the introduction of generic guidelines have opened up new opportunities for Indian pharmaceutical exporters to the region's pharmaceutical market," the release adds.

<a href=www.busrep.co.za>Business Report May 15, 2003 By Quentin Wray

SA drops in competitiveness index, but it's just technical Johannesburg - South Africa dropped from 16th to 18th place in the IMD world competitiveness ranking in 2003 of economies with populations of more than 20 million people.

However, the change was due to the introduction of two regional economies - Sao Paulo in Brazil and Zhejiang in China, which were ranked 13th and 14th.

The US, Australia, Canada, Malaysia and Germany led the big economy rankings. South Africa was the only African country ranked. Finland, Singapore, Denmark, Hong Kong and Switzerland led the rankings of economies with less than 20 million people . Venezuela and Jordan were the least competitive countries in the two categories.

The Swiss-based IMD aggregates more than 320 competitiveness criteria in 51 countries and eight regional economies.

The report warned that the US current account deficit, budget deficit and proposed tax cuts could increase foreign debt and lead to a further weakening of the dollar in 2003. This would make it harder for developing nations to raise capital. - Quentin Wray

<a href=www.euobserver.com>EUObserver.com

Europe is doomed to become the big loser in world economics during the next 50 years.

The big winner will be China - whose economic share is predicted to grow from 18 to 24 per cent - and by 2050 be the largest player in the world economy. (Photo: Notat)Europe is doomed to become the big loser in world economics during the next 50 years.

Great China (China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) will be the number one player in the world economy by 2050 followed closely by North America (US, Canada and Mexico) while Europe will fall to become a second rank economic power.

These are the bleak projections of the French research centre, Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (Ifri), presented in the report 'World Trade in the 21st Century', ("Le commerce mondial au XXIe siècle").

By 2050, Europe's share of the world economy will only be 12 per cent against 22 per cent today. Europe will find itself at the same level as the group of 12 oil-producing countries, including Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela.

In the same period, North America will just about manage to hold its share in the world economy, falling only from 25 per cent in 2000 to 23 per cent in 2050.

The big winner will be China, which is forecast to increase its share from 18 to 24 percent and by 2050 be the largest player in the world economy.

30 million immigrants to Europe The 400-page report predicts that Europe will receive some 30 million immigrants in the years 2000-2020 because the fertility rate has dropped dramatically and European industry needs a workforce.

Despite this huge take-in from other parts of the world, the European population is still expected to decline in the years 2000-2050, from 493 million to 434 million. In the same period the population of Greater China is expected to grow from 1282 million to 1472 with the North American group rising from 413 million to 584 million.

Just a century ago Western Europe was a serious world power which had colonised major parts of the globe.

This time, however the other side of the globe will have its turn. By 2050, the economic heavyweight will be the Asian-Pacific region, the French Institute concludes.

The report also predicts that by 2050 Europe will have 30 member states; the 15 current members, the 10 to join in 2004, plus Bulgaria, Romania, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

It also advises Europe to improve relations with Russia and the Mediterranean countries, including Turkey - which is described as a pivotal country.

Press Articles  IHT   Report  Le commerce mondial au XXIe siècle   Website  Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (Ifri)     Written by Lisbeth Kirk Edited by Honor Mahony

May 14 07:03 AFP

The United States and Finland have the most competitive economies in the world, according to the 2003 World Competitiveness Yearbook released by the Swiss business school IMD on Wednesday.

Both countries topped the new split annual rankings of national business and economic efficiency despite restructuring affecting their traditional strengths, the information technology and finance industries, IMD said in its report.

The IMD's ranking has been split into two for the first time, separating economies with over 20 million inhabitants from smaller countries.

The competitiveness ranking of large economies places the United States ahead of Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Germany and Taiwan respectively.

Finland, Singapore, Denmark, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Luxembourg head the list of 29 smaller economies.

Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong improved their efficiency over the past year, but the SARS outbreak was expected to have "dire consequences" for Asian competiveness in next year's ranking, IMD warned.

The United States maintained its top slot thanks to interest rate cuts and consumer spending.

But report also warned that the US current account deficit, its expected budget deficit and the Bush administration's proposed tax cuts could increase foreign debt and lead to a further weakening of the dollar in 2003. advertisement advertisement

"As a consequence, it will be harder for developing nations to raise capital because the US economy would drain most of the world's financial resources," competitiveness director Stephane Garelli of IMD said.

"Two time bombs are ticking," he added, warning that global corporate debt was at an all-time high and pension funds were losing 2.8 trillion dollars worth of assets and were in need of "significant refinancing by enterprises and states".

Major European economies are battling with deficits, overregulation and government reform, with Germany (5th), Britain (7th) and France (8th) afflicted by structural problems weighing on their competitiveness, IMD said.

"Some fresh air could come from the next wave of EU member states which show solid economic growth," Mr Garelli said.

Latin America is in need of "stability and predictability" following economic collapse in Argentina and Venezuela, according to Mr Garelli.

However, he praised recently-elected Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for bringing "a very pragmatic administration".

Eight regions have also been integrated into the rankings, which assess various criteria for business efficiency, government efficiency and regulation, infrastructure and economic performance.

Sao Paulo state in 13th position of the large economies is rated as more competitive than its home country Brazil (21st), and Zhejiang province on China in 14th place ranks just below mainland China (12th).

The Ile de France region, including Paris, is the most competitive European region among the smaller economies (15th).

IMD reveals that only four of the 59 countries and regions in its annual ranking of business and economic efficiency saw their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrink in 2003.

"The good news is that the world economy is not in recession. The bad news is that no one realises it," Mr Garelli commented.

BW5268 MAY 09,2003 9:08 PACIFIC 12:08 EASTERN     Business Editors

    PARIS--(<a href=www.businesswire.com>BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2003--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its 'AAA' preliminary credit rating to the term certificates series 2003-1 to be issued by Vitol Master Trust.

    The certificates are backed by trade receivables originated by the Vitol group, one of the world's largest oil distibutors. The products include crude oil, fuel oil, gasoline, distillates (jet fuel and gas oil), LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), and naphtha. The receivables are generated by three entities: Vitol S.A. in Geneva and its branch in Houston, Vitol Energy S.A., Geneva, and Vitol Asia Pte Ltd., Singapore.

    The receivables pool has exhibited strong and stable collections performance. From January 1997, the annual net write-offs as a percentage of annual gross sales revenue have not exceeded 0.03%.

    "This strong performance reflects the nature of many of the obligors (state oil companies) and the importance of the underlying product," said Nicolas Malaterre, an associate director in Standard & Poor's European Structured Finance Ratings group in Paris.

    The Vitol group's major customers are multinational oil companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., and British Petroleum Co. PLC, as well as national oil companies such as Indian Oil Corp., Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), and Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX).

    The rating on the certificates reflects the credit quality of the underlying receivables and the minimum credit support, which dynamically adjusts on a monthly basis to provide coverage for a stressed level of historical portfolio losses and dilutions, as well as for note interest, servicing fees, trustee fees, and other expenses.

    The assets are also subject to strong eligibility criteria, a sound cash flow structure, and certain mechanisms that are in place to protect investors and ensure timely payment of interest and ultimate repayment of principal. Early amortization events include tests on the receivables' performance.

    Vitol Master Trust may after closing, and subject to Standard & Poor's rating confirmation, include additional originators of receivables and further series of notes may also be issued.

    The full presale report for this transaction was published today on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. The presale report can also be found on Standard & Poor's Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Click on Fixed Income; then, in the left navigation bar under Browse by Sector, select Structured Finance; scroll down to Presale Credit Reports to locate the article. Alternatively, call one of Standard & Poor's Ratings Desks: London (44) 20-7847-7400; Paris (33) 1-4420-6705; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-223; or Stockholm (46) 8-440-5916. Members of the media may contact the Press Office Hotline on (44) 20-7826-3605 orvia media_europe@standardandpoors.com.

    ANALYST E-MAIL ADDRESSES     nicolas_malaterre@standardandpoors.com     StructuredFinanceEurope@standardandpoors.com

--30--MRO/se*

CONTACT: Standard & Poor's
         Nicolas Malaterre, Paris (33) 1-4420-7324

KEYWORD: NEW YORK FRANCE INTERNATIONAL EUROPE
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING BOND/STOCK RATINGS
SOURCE: Standard & Poor's