Latin American firms getting funding in US.Long shunned by many investors as a backwater marked by dictatorships, poor infrastructure and no strong history of capitalism The history of capitalism dates back to early forms of merchant capitalism practiced in the Middle East and Western Europe during the Middle Ages,[] though many economic historians consider the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country. , Latin American is drawing new interest from investors in the U.S. In turn, growing financial strength and sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. there may help North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. companies looking to expand south of the border. Trenwith Securities LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , a boutique investment bank, has been busy lining up financing for middle-market Latin American can firms, building from its presence in a dozen Latin nations. Most of those firms are in manufacturing, and many are family-owned, says Luciane Roessler, managing director in Trenwith's International Investment Banking Group. Typically, Roessler says, Trenwith finds buyers for both senior and subordinated debt Subordinated Debt A loan (or security) that ranks below other loans (or securities) with regard to claims on assets or earnings. Also known as "junior security" or "subordinated loan". . Most of the pricing is bench-marked against the London Interbank Offered Rate London Interbank Offered Rate A short-term interest rate often quoted as a 1,3,6-month rate for U.S.dollars. (LIBOR LIBOR See: London Interbank Offered Rate LIBOR See London interbank offered rate (LIBOR). ), though some deals are done at fixed rates, she says. Terms are getting longer, she adds. "Five years used to be the limit, based on risk insurance policies. But some terms have gone to eight years," and she says Trenwith placed 12-year debt recently for a Brazilian firm. Companies in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. typically can't really find financing locally except through their state governments, and much of that comes through development banks that can be very heavy in red tape, she says. That makes funding from U.S. firms attractive, though there is also some interest from European lenders, especially for project finance. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Still, Roessler concedes, "A very big issue is bias against Latin America. Some companies are being asked to set up subsidiaries in countries with better reputations" in order to obtain funding. "Banks that already have a presence there are most comfortable with the idea of lending."
Compensation: What Companies are Targeting
Percent of surveyed companies employing these programs
More Project
Signing aggressive milestone Spot cash
bonuses pay increases awards awards
IT 67% 43% 77% 85%
E-commerce 26% 10% 18% 49%
Engineering 40% 28% 34% 56%
Accounting & Finance 52% 25% 31% 78%
Sales & Marketing 50% 23% 23% 69%
Customer Service 21% 5% 21% 69%
Human Resources 32% 7% 22% 73%
Internal Auditors 31% 12% 19% 58%
Security 16% 7% 12% 46%
Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006/2007 U.S. Compensation
Planning Survey
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