Companies to watch in 2004: positioned for growth in the coming year.

With the economies of Latin America expected to gather momentum in 2004 and trade set to expand for the region, businesses within a variety of sectors are positioned for growth. The LATIN TRADE 2004 consensus forecast for gross domestic product growth in Latin America is about 3.7%, with some countries--such as Chile, Argentina and Venezuela--exceeding that figure. At the same time, trade and investment barriers in the Americas are about to dissolve as the government leaders of 34 countries in the western hemisphere move toward the 2005 ratification of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. The agreement, which would create a regional trade bloc from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, would encompass 800 million consumers with a gross national product exceeding US$14 trillion.

"The FTAA is key to growth in Latin American economies because it will remove a massive trading block in the region. We are very optimistic about relationships between the U.S. and its neighbors to the South," said John Lynch, chief executive officer of Seaboard Marine, which serves more than 22 countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America with 29 dedicated vessels, as well as thousands of containers.

Seaboard is geared for the increased levels of cargo logistics companies anticipate from the trade agreement, with an expansion in services and a fleet that is extremely flexible in size and capacity, Lynch added.

Expansion into the Chinese cargo market will begin for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in February 2004 when China Cargo initiates MD-11 freighter service between Dallas-Fort Worth and Shanghai. "The strategically-located airport will be the first Chinese air cargo point in the interior United States," according to Bill Frainey, assistant vice president of marketing for DFW, which is home to more than 100 multinational freight forwarders, consolidators and logistics providers.

"China Cargo's entry into the U.S. market will provide us with more than 25 cargo flights per week into Asia--a significant booster for trade with the region," said Frainey.

The Airport will also continue its $2.6 billion capital development program, which will be complete in early 2005. The program includes a new international terminal, a Grand Hyatt Hotel and a high-speed SkyLink automated people mover system.

American Airlines recently launched new passenger service from Dallas/Forth Worth to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nonstop service to 20 destinations in Latin America, including more than 165 departures per week to Mexico, is now available at DFW.

Increased travel in Latin America is already evident, according to Howard Friedman, president of Hilton international--The Americas.

The company, which has 400 hotels in 60 countries, expects to open several new hotels throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in 2004. This includes resorts in Barbados, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.

"With the increased appetite for travel that we are seeing, it looks as though the Americas are poised for a stronger leisure travel base and a pick up in corporate travel," said Friedman.

Hilton guests can expect heightened hotel experiences, including relaxation areas within their rooms, state-of the-art work spaces with high-tech features, Caribbean-style breakfasts and fresh interiors redesigned with exquisite light woods and luxury appointments.

New properties will also make 2004 an exciting year for Inter-Continental Hotels Group (IHG), the world's most global hotel company--accessible at www.ichotelsgroup.com.

IHG's Holiday Inn brand will introduce several new properties in Latin America, beginning with two in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Holiday Inn Select Jaragua which is part of a major urban renewal project in the city's Historic District, and the Holiday Inn Anhembi--by far the largest Holiday Inn in the Southern Hemisphere.

Additionally, IHG recently acquired Candlewood Suites, an established mid-market hotel chain that is less than five years old. This addition increases IHG's management portfolio by more than 40% to six brands, adding 108 hotels and 12,500 rooms in the Americas. The acquisition will also expand the company's presence into the mid-scale extended stay segment, in addition to its existing representation in the upscale market with Staybridge Suites, which recently held a grand opening in Sao Paulo--the first to open outside of North America.

To foster the global expansion of businesses and business travel, American Express has launched an array of sophisticated products designed to satisfy key corporate needs. The company's Corporate Travel arm is one of the largest corporate travel agencies worldwide and its Corporate Card division offers numerous options.

"Better control of employee expenses, reduced purchasing costs, more efficient collections and worldwide corporate travel services are among the benefits provided by American Express' diverse product portfolio," said Ramon Martin, vice president and head of global corporate services for the Latin America and Caribbean divisions of American Express. "In 2004, we will continue to find solutions to specific client needs and will expand these products to additional areas in Central and South America."

Corporate Travel and Corporate Card clients of American Express, will see new innovations in their interactive abilities with the company, according to Martin.

"Both our Corporate Card and Corporate Travel businesses have continuously adapted and shaped products to keep pace with economic and industry changes, while always focusing on bettering our service to corporate customers," said Martin.

The faster pace of global economic progress shows in sales numbers, according to Desiree Ortiz-Rodriguez, director for Latin America and Canada for InFocus Corporation, a leader in digital projection technology and solutions.

Producing some of the industry's most corn prehensive business and home projectors, InFocus plans to launch eight new products within the first quarter of 2004.

The group is continuing to create cutting-edge projectors offering wireless and networking capabilities in lightweight, user-friendly formats for costs to consumers that are a fraction of what they might have paid for lesser products a few years ago, Ortiz-Rodriguez said.

"We are growing our distribution channels worldwide as our focus on innovative products has delivered well," she added. "We have sold over 1.5 million projectors to date, with sales in the Americas contributing significantly to our average growth of more than 20% annually."

Especially important to the company's future plans is its recent success in supplying projector technology to top educational institutions, such as PUC University Brazil, University Santa Caterina Brazil and University Del Estado de Hidalgo Mexico.

Education is taking a front seat worldwide--especially in the area of English language proficiency--with the offshore influx of U.S.-based multi-national companies, according to Educational Testing Services (ETS) officials.

"Call centers, manufacturing facilities and new office creation in countries such as Mexico, China, India, Hungary and Poland have created a need for skilled labor forces that can speak English in these locations," said Kirson Herbert, vice president of international development for ETS--a global company that provides educational assessment tools and training programs. "In China alone, the need is huge, as approximately one eighth of its 1.5 billion strong population will require English language training."

ETS, which has more than 2,500 staff worldwide, is considered a leader in providing skills assessment tests as well as training and certification programs to the public and private sectors.

The group counts among its clients the government of China. ETS is helping Chinese officials prepare the country to meet the language requirements necessary for its role as host of the 2008 Olympics.

The synergy between education and business is particularly evident at Estoril, Inc., a real estate development company set to open the Espirito Santo Plaza in Miami within the first quarter of 2004.

Espirito Santo Plaza--a $200 million, 36-story glass tower of luxury residences, offices and a Conrad Hotel has already re-defined Miami's skyline.

Estoril sponsors Miami's New World School of the Arts and scholarships for its students through benefit performances and the commission of artwork for the residences within Espirito Santo Plaza.

"Excellence in education and business are investments in the future," said William N. Ross, president of Estoril, Inc. "At Espirito Santo Plaza we are providing an unparalleled experience for residents, office tenants and hotel guests in one of the most dynamic cities in the world. This will set a new standard for the future as global businesses and travel continue to grow."

Growth in Latin American businesses is fueling the expansion of Kyocera Mita, one of the world's leading document imaging companies. The group, which is improving the document managing process, plans to double its business in North America and Latin America to $1 billion over 2004. More than 5,3 million of its state-of-the-art printers were shipped to Latin American countries alone in 2003.

"As organizations in Latin America look more closely at their operating costs, Kyocera Mita's technology-driven, cost-effective imaging solutions become even more important," said Akihiro Nasu, chief executive officer of Kyocera Mita America.

The company, which has one of the lowest total costs of equipment ownership levels in the digital imaging industry, is launching several leading-edge software initiatives and products within 2004.

"Businesses in South America, Central America and the Caribbean islands have begun to increase productivity, decrease costs and show a return on their equipment investment by installing multi-functional products," Nasu said.

Increased corporate purchasing is forming part of a universal rise in worldwide freight markets, posing a challenge to logistics companies. Helping to meet that demand is Intermarine, a global provider of ocean transport as well as inland heavy haul transportation services for breakbulk, specialized project and heavy lift cargoes.

The company's sailings include regularly scheduled services between the U.S. and Mexico and the Americas, Asia and other worldwide destinations.

"We tailor-make every voyage to not only meet the specific delivery requirements of the cargoes at hand, but to ensure the most economic use of vessel time," said Roger Kavanagh, president and chief executive officer of Intermarine. "Because of the flexibility our modern fleet provides, we are able to most economically integrate added tonnage into our existing fleet. This increases our service ability and helps us to provide what we consider to be reasonable rates in a very strong market."

Further demand for quality logistics services in new markets has led to the addition of more routes for Hamburg Sud--long recognized as a leader in North-South trade linking Europe with Latin America, and North America with Latin America and Australia-New Zealand. The company is now offering services connecting these markets with Asia, South Africa, India and Pakistan.

"Hamburg Sud has well over a century of experience in European and Latin American markets and over half a century in North America and the South Pacific," said Frank Larkin, senior vice president of Hamburg Sud. "Our worldwide network of company offices and agencies, staffed with experienced personnel versed in local trade laws and customs, and linked by modern information technology, assures clients the professional, reliable and cost efficient marine transport and intermodal logistics services needed to grow business in existing and developing markets worldwide."

Logistics leader Menlo Worldwide is also expanding to meet the needs of increased trade. The $3 billion company has opened new offices in Mexico and Brazil, adding to its 500 facilities in over 200 countries. Menlo's Latin American headquarters, which is based in Miami, manages an extensive network of over 30 offices in 16 countries.

"We specialize in offering our clients who do business in Latin America scalable, sufficient supply chain strategies and transportation solutions that enable them to successfully compete in a very competitive global environment," said Ronald Young, vice president of Latin America for Menlo Worldwide.