Investors follow CAFTA into Central America

Florida, USA.  August 22. First came retail giant Wal-Mart Stores' purchase of a Central American supermarket chain.

Now, banking leader HSBC Holdings is staking a claim to Central America, with an offer to buy financial group Grupo Banistmo for $1.77 billion.

The deals come as a tumbling of trade barriers within Central America eases business across the region. The new U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement, which has taken effect in four area nations this year, also stimulates investment, analysts said. (more)

Foreign Firms Gain from U.S. Corporate Governance, Expert Says  Washington. July 19. Foreign companies doing business in U.S. markets can derive sizeable benefits from compliance with the U.S. law designed to improve corporate governance, despite extra costs associated with it, an expert says. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed by Congress in 2002 to enhance shareholder protection by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate reporting and accounting in the wake of financial scandals involving major U.S. companies. (more)

Increased economic activity in Honduras

Tegucigalpa.  July 5.  The Honduran economic activity increased by 5.4% between January and April of 2006, compared to 3.4% for the same period in 2005 according to a recent report published by the Central Bank of Honduras. The Report on Economic Performance uses the Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE), which is measurement of the production of the most relevant productive sectors of the economy. Not only has the economic activity increased, but Honduras has the second lowest inflation in Central America, after El Salvador.  (more)

Closing the net on Money laundering

Honduras, 13 Mar (Honduras This Week) - The Law against Money Laundering, in action since June 2002, has recently increased the penalty for the laundering of funds derived from illicit activities such as drug and people trafficking and kidnapping. Furthermore, legal reforms are pending which will further penalize the laundering of money associated with terrorist activities. Although many companies now possess sophisticated software capable of earmarking potentially illegal transactions involving suspicious funds, in the past 4 years there have been nearly 200 reported cases of money laundering.