(Bloomberg) — Can Latin America seize the opportunities in front of it stemming from supply chain disruptions, cheap labor and a growing technology industry in order to revert a decade of tepid growth?
That’s one of the key issues being discussed at Bloomberg’s inaugural New Economy Gateway Latin America event being held in Panama City. After a day that saw hesitation on the speed of adaptation for cryptocurrencies, warnings of growing populism and the potential to leverage relationships with both the US and China, speakers Thursday will address health, food scarcity, clean energy, cities and biodiversity.
You can follow the agenda here and the event will be streamed on the terminal at LIVE GO and on the web.
Copper is the new oil, key to building new economy (11:20 p.m.)
Metal producers have to reinvent their relationship with communities in order to gain social licenses to grow output and feed the clean-energy transition, according to billionaire mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland.
Speaking on a panel, Friedland said mining is crucial for building a new economy, given “copper is the new oil.” But the industry has to be better at engaging communities and reducing environmental footprints to gain acceptance. That means adopting a more holistic approach to communities by rolling out projects in everything from farming to education, he said.
Referring to ongoing community protests that have stalled output at MMG Ltd.’s Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, he said: “Miners need to reexamine the enterprise from day one to try to prevent that kind of problem from occurring.” With regards to ESG, he said: “Companies that get it right will inherit the industry. Companies that don’t, will die.”
The founder and executive co-chairman of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. also urged governments to be “very, very careful” not to make operating environments too onerous and scare away investments to friendly jurisdictions. A lithium cartel is a “terrible idea,” he said.
Fernanda Avila, mining secretary of Argentina, said the South American country’s later embracing of mining has a silver lining. “Argentina can introduce the ESG framework from the beginning of the life of the projects.”
Food crisis requires more public-private cooperation, capital (10:35 a.m.)
Members of a food panel called for more action from governments and the private sector to accompany all the talk about how to mitigate a looming global good crisis.
There’s been a lot of talk about the need for public and private entities to work together more, but not enough action in terms of coordinating production and distribution of food, according to Ertharin Cousin, head of Food Systems for the Future. “There’s not enough financial action from either side,” she said, calling for more flows of “blended” capital.
A key tool to resolving the situation without compromising sustainability objections is technology such as digital farming, which can help ensure stable yields and optimize crops, said Mauricio Rodrigues, President for the Crop Science Division in Latin America, Bayer AG. It’s the role of government to make sure that technology spreads, said Marcela Escobari, assistant administrator at USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The supply chains put together by the private sector for the global grain trade were built on globalization, said Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. Chief Financial Officer Enrique Lopez. It would be hard to build something else now, he said.
Next pandemic has to be different (10 a.m.)
Covid-19 hit Latin America hard, and the region has to change its approach to deal with a next health crisis, according to Panama’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Erika Mouynes. The country is actively preparing and advocating to act as a bloc to buy vaccines, much like the EU is doing, she said.
“It has to be different the next time around — it doesn’t matter if you are able to vaccinate your country if your neighbors are still struggling,” she said. “The way vaccines were distributed the first time around clearly did not work.”
Rolf Hoenger, the area head of Roche Pharmaceuticals Latin America, said it’s key to know not only to invest more, but better.
Daniel Nathrath, the founder and chief executive officer of health fintech Ada Health, added that people need to look not just at virus cases — Covid accounted for about 25% of all assessments done by Ada — but also at the indirect effects of a health crisis. Data showed depression in kids and teenagers more than doubled in Germany amid prolonged school closures.
“I would advise governments to take a holistic view,” he said.
US awaits democratic opening in Venezuela for relief (9:35 a.m.)
Juan Gonzalez, Special Assistant to US President Joe Biden and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council, spoke in a virtual interview about policy toward Latin America.
The US needs to see negotiated solutions between the Venezuelan government and opposition that leads to free and fair elections before reviewing the possibility of lifting economic sanctions, Gonzalez said. The issue of easing sanctions is not about boosting supply in the global oil market, he said.
Biden’s policy toward Cuba is about being “hard on the regime and soft on the people,” Gonzalez said. Biden wants to see a “secure, middle class and democratic” Western Hemisphere.
It’s too early to say whether the leaders from Mexico and Brazil will attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, Gonzalez said, as some countries demand the inclusion of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua at the event.
Cortizo on crypto law, China trade and growth (7:40 p.m.)
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Stephanie Flanders, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo said his country is boosting cooperation with the private sector to lure investments and has the pandemic under control which is driving the fastest economic growth in the region.
While both China and the US are key trade partners, the US is most strategic relationship, Cortizo said. After a pause, trade talks with China will resume soon and Panama will push for more of its agricultural products to be included.
A new crypto law approved in Congress will be reviewed by lawyers and they’ll make a recommendation on whether to approve, partially sanction or reject the legislation, Cortizo said. In its current form, it wouldn’t be signed, he said, and any new rules will have to guarantee that the country’s fight against money laundering isn’t weakened.
“It is an innovative law from what I have heard, it’s a good law,” he said. “However, we do have a solid financial system here in Panama and one of the things I’m waiting on is when you have a global regulation of crypto-assets.”
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