España y Latam

La inversión de las empresas españolas en Latinoamérica crecerá en 2013 Miguel Moreno - Madrid - 21/03/2013 Compartir: La buena situación económica de la región y sus perspectivas de crecimiento, aunque menor que en anteriores años, hacen de los mercados latinoamericanos destinos muy atractivos para la inversión de las empresas españolas, como recoge el informe sobre el Panorama de Inversión Española en Latinoamérica, elaborado por el IE Business School. México, Brasil, Perú y Colombia, los países con mejores expectativas para nuestras empresas. "Muchas empresas españolas creen que este es el momento de invertir en Latinoamérica, ya estabilizada la caída del mercado nacional y despejadas las dudas sobre la región". Así lo afirma Juan Carlos Martínez Lázaro, profesor de la IE Business School, a tenor de la encuesta realizada a cerca de cuarenta empresas españolas con inversión en la región. De hecho, menos del 50% de las empresas encuestadas en 2011 y 2012 creían que en los tres años siguientes su negocio en los mercados latinoamericanos podría superar en volumen al del mercado español. Una cifra opuesta a la de este año, en la que el 81% de las empresas estiman que para 2016 Latinoamérica será más importante para ellos que España. El 95% de las empresas encuestadas afirman que su volumen de negocio en América Latina aumentará en los próximos años, con gran margen respecto a otros mercados como el norteamericano (55%) y la Europa fuera de la UE (50%). De hecho, la Unión Europea es el mercado con peores perspectivas de crecimiento para su negocio, con sólo el 21%, como recoge el VI Informe sobre el Panorama de la Inversión Española en Latinoamérica. En cuanto a las pymes españolas, el profesor Martínez Lázaro afirma que ya se están lanzando a invertir allí: "El efecto de arrastre de las grandes empresas sobre las pymes durante los años pasados no se había producido, probablemente por la buena situación de nuestro mercado interno hasta la crisis. Ahora muchas pymes españolas creen que si quieren crecer tienen que invertir en Latinoamérica". Sobre este aspecto el subdirector general de política comercial con Latinoamérica y América del Norte, Rafael Fuentes Candau , cree que en el futuro la relación con los mercados internacionales no hará sino fortalecerse: "Se está generando una base de empresas exportadoras e inversoras, lo que nos lleva a pensar que estas empresas seguirán manteniendo un gran porcentaje de su actividad en el exterior en el futuro". La llegada de empresas e inversiones extranjeras a la región latinoamericana debido a la liberalización de las economías de estos países, junto con el crecimiento experimentado, ha hecho, y hará en el futuro, que la competitividad y la competencia en ellos también aumente. "Estos mercados llevan recibiendo inversiones durante 30 años, y esto ha hecho que su competitividad haya crecido, lo que deben tener en cuenta las empresas españolas", afirma Consuelo Díaz, directora adjunta del Área de Riesgos de COFIDES. El más competitivo de los mercados latinos al otro lado del Atlántico, según nuestros empresarios, es el mexicano, por delante de otros como el de Chile. El mercado interno de México también es visto como uno de los más interesantes de la región, sólo por detrás de Brasil. La reducción de la pobreza y la mejora de la clase media que ya se están produciendo en Latinoamérica son factores importantes en el crecimiento de estos países, pero también para las exportaciones españolas. Bienes de consumo agroalimentario y productos de carácter duradero, como electrodomésticos, pueden ser un verdadero nicho de mercado en la región latinoamericana, según Fuentes Candau, ante el fuerte crecimiento de la demanda esperado.

International Investment and Development

UCHE EWELUKWA, EILA BUNKER, QINGQING MIAO, DARRELL R. JOHNSON, MAHESH KUMAR, PRATIBHA JAIN, MARK KATZ, ERIKA DOUGLAS, IRINA FEOFANOVA, VOLHA SAMASIUK, AMALA NATH, JOSEPH V. HUSTY, MAURICIO BECERRA DE LA ROCA DONOSO, JAVIER ROBLEDO JIMÉNEZ, AND ENRIQUE GOMEZ-PINZON*

I. Introduction

Significant developments occurred in 2012 in the field of international investments. Regarding international investment trends, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in the first half of 2012, global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows reached US $668 billion, down from US $729 billion in the first half of 2011. For the first time, developing countries (without transition economies) absorbed half of global FDI. China became the world’s largest recipient of FDI inflows in the first half of 2012, followed by the United States. Regarding investment laws and policies, 2012 witnessed “a significant dichotomy in national investment policy making,” with some countries taking partial liberalization steps in certain sensitive sectors, and other governments taking action to restrict foreign investment. Finally, with respect to international investment rulemaking, several international investment agreements came into being in 2012.

II. International Investment Agreements*

A number of bilateral investment treaties (BIT) and other international investment agreements (IIAs) were either signed or ratified in 2012. BITs signed in 2012 include:

• BIT between the Russian Federation and Zimbabwe (October 7); 
• BIT between Morocco and Vietnam (June 15); 
• BIT between Gabon and Turkey (July 18); 
• BIT between Iraq and Japan (August 7); 
• BIT between China and Taiwan, Province of China (August 8); and 
• Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (September 9). 

Several free trade agreements and framework agreements were also concluded including:

• Framework Agreement on Trade, Economic, Technical and Investment Cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council and United States (September 25); 
• Framework Agreement on Trade, Economic, Technical and Investment Cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council and Peru (October 1); and 
• Chile-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement (September 7). 

B. BOLIVIA**

1. Nationalizations

Following the nationalization of oil, telecom, and power generation companies, 2012 saw the Bolivian government completing the nationalization process of state companies that were privatized during the capitalization process. For example, it ordered the transfer to ENDE (Empresa Nacional de Electricidad Bolivia), the state owned Electricity Company, of the shares issued by Transportadora de Electricidad S.A. (TDE), the company in charge of transmission of electrical energy from power generation plants to distributors around the country. The government also ordered the completion and signature of the settlement contract with the former shareholders of AIR BP BOLIVIA S.A.-ABBSA, the company in charge of supplying aviation fuel in airports around the country, which was nationalized in 2009. 

2. Statute of Limitations on Tax Debts Extended

The Bolivian Tax Code was amended by extending the statute of limitations on tax debts. It is noted that the amendment is made through the “Law on amendments to the General State Budget,” a temporary law that only has legal effect for one year because a new state budget is approved through law each year.

The new time limits are as follows: charges by the Tax Administration are barred after four years during 2012, five years in 2013, six years in 2014, seven years in 2015, eight years in 2016, nine years in 2017, and ten years beginning in 2018. The time limits pertain to monitoring, investigating, verifying and supervising taxes, determining the tax liability, and imposing administrative sanctions.

The time limits for each year mentioned above will be about tax obligations maturing, and tax violations that had occurred in that year. The statute of limitations will be extended for three additional years if the taxpayer or responsible party fails to comply with the obligation to register with the relevant registry or join a different tax regime to which it belongs. As for computing the term for the statute of limitations, it shall be counted from the first day of the month following that in which the deadline of the respective payment occurred or tax violation was committed.

3. Promotion of Tourism

On September 25, 2012, the new tourism law, “Bolivia Awaits You,” was enacted. The Bolivian government also recently launched a promotional campaign called “Bolivia Awaits You.” The law and the campaign seek to boost community-based tourism in Bolivia and have the State as the main protagonist. Under this law, the State is responsible for economic investment and generation of policies for the development of the tourism sector. The government plans to invest about US $19 million over the next five years in order to boost community-based tourism. In addition, the State will provide maintenance to the main tourist attractions of the country, such as the Salar de Uyuni, Lake Titicaca, Madidi National Park, Tiwanaku, and Los Yungas of La Paz. The Act also implements the Tourism Regulatory Administration Fee (TART) that provides for service providers to be paid annually .

* Uche Ewelukwa, a law professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, served as the committee editor.  She is on the Steering Committee of the International Investment and Development Committee of the ABA’s Section on International Law and Practice.

[1].   For developments during 2011, see Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile et al., International Investment and Development, 46 Int’l Law. 239 (2012).  For developments in 2009, see Diego Parravicini et al., International Investment and Development, 44 Int’l Law. 283 (2010). 

[2].   United Nations Conference on Trade & Dev. [UNCTAD], Global Investment Trend Monitor, Oct. 23, 2012, at 1-2, available at http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/webdiaeia2012d20_en.pdf.  UNCTAD attributes the decline in FDI inflows in 2012 to the declines in inflows to the United States and to the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russian Federation, India, and China.  Id. at 2.

[3].   Id.

[4]. UNCTAD Secretariat, Investment Policy Monitor, Nov. 26, 2012, at 1, available at http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/webdiaepcb2012d5_en.pdf.

*

[5].   Id. at 5, 10.

[6]. Id. at 5, 10.

      **   Mauricio Becerra de la Roca Donoso, Becerra de la Roca Donoso & Asociados, Bolivia, wrote this section.

[7].   The capitalization was performed during the government of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada to promote foreign investment and inject capital to strategic companies.  It consisted of the sale of 51 percent of the share package of key state companies to international investors, and the remaining package was transferred in favor of all Bolivian citizens 21 years of age or older as of December 31, 1995.  Law No. 2492, Apr. 15, 1994, G.O. 1824.

[8].   See Supreme Decree No. 1214, May 1, 2012, G.O. 369.

[9]. See Supreme Decree No. 1149, Feb. 29, 2012, G.O. 347.

[10].   Supreme Decree No. 0111, May 1, 2009, G.O. 26 (nationalizing ABBSA).

[11].   Bolivian Tax Code, Law No. 2492, Aug. 2, 2008, G.O. 2508 (Bol.).

[12].   See Law No. 291, Sept. 22, 2012, G.O. 422 (Bol.).  This law modifies the General State Budget.  See Law No. 211, Dec. 23, 2011, G.O. 328 (Bol.).

[13]. See Law No. 292, Sept. 25, 2012, G.O. 423 (Bol.). 

[14].   Bolivia: New Video Campaign Seeks to Boost Tourism, Global Voices (Aug. 9, 2012, 1:20 PM), http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/08/09/bolivia-new-video-campaign-seeks-to-boost-tourism/.

[15] See Article 28 of Law No. 292, Sept. 25, 2012, G.O. 423 (Bol.).