Wall Street celebrates 3rd "Chile Day"Published: July 23, 2009
National business people and members of the Chilean Government, led by the Treasury Minister, visited the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to promote our country as a safe and reliable investment destination.
On Thursday 17th and Friday 18th of July, the world's main stock market celebrated "Chile Day". This initiative, supported by the NYSE Euronext exchange group and the financial institution Citibank, provides prominent Chilean business people with the chance to target North American investors.
Although it is not the first time the New York Stock Exchange has worn Chilean colours, the presence of the Minister of Economy, Andrés Velasco, lent the occasion special importance; it is the first time that government representatives have attended the event.
The Chilean minister highlighted that, "a small country like ours needs large companies to come and invest. Here we have seen banks and companies from all over the world tell us that Chile is going in the right direction, that it is a safe country and a reliable partner, and that they are interested in going to Chile to invest and do business."
The event was attended by more than 200 representatives of the capital market in Chile and the United States. At its opening, Nouriel Roubini, a professor at New York University who anticipated the global recession, praised Chile's financial and economic system.
In Roubini's opinion, Chile is well-prepared to resist the effects of the global economic crisis. This is due to the macroeconomic policies that have been pursued in recent years, characterised by dramatic saving in times of prosperity.
Concerning the advantages that our country has to attract investors, Velasco stated that, "Chile has a clear legal system, political stability, great fiscal strengths, and a well-capitalized and regulated financial system that is experienced in the handling of assets. Today the system handles over US$100 billion in assets." He also added that the nation is "very globally integrated", highlighting the presence of a delegation of 12 companies that accompanied him to the NYSE.
Andrés Velasco emphasised that, "the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) confirms the analysis carried out by the private and public sectors in Chile, which indicates that 2010 will be a year of growth, a year of recovery, and that Chile should be one of the countries that recovers most effectively from the crisis. This is what the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) all say, and now CEPAL also confirms."
Sources:
www.lanacion.clwww.cooperativa.cl