Argentina on the rise? Focus on Chile

Has Argentina reached a turning point?

Obama was in Buenos Aires this week at a meeting hosted by UFI member La Rural.  In a historic meeting he described Presdient Macri as a "man in a hurry" and added:

"I'm impressed because he has moved rapidly on so many of the reforms that he promised, to create more sustainable and inclusive economic growth, to reconnect Argentina with the global economy and the world community.

Argentina is re-assuming its traditional leadership role in the region and around the world."

High praise indeed.  And it is great credit to Macri that he has managed to do so much so quickly.  At the meeting of our Latin American chapter in Milan only 4 months ago we barely discussed Argentina, which is after all the third largest market in the region. (and there were 2 Argentinians in the room... see page 11 of above link)

Since Macri was elected one month later in December 2015 it is a different story; he has lifted capital controls, slashed crippling power subsidies and most importanty reached an agreement on the debt with international holdout creditors.  Of course there are still many problems to face but this is massive news.  In Milan we talked about the suprising speed with which Latin American economies rebound, and let's hope this proves to be the case in Argentina.

Juan Pablo Maglier, Director of Institutional Relations at leading organizer and venue La Rural stated:

" The conditions for the exhibition industry in Argentina are very good right now.  This new relationship with leading economic powers in Europe and the US should lead to significant growth and consolidation of the exhibition sector."

UFI as always will support the industry working through our members in Argentina, including AOCA, the Buenos Aires Convention Bureau, La Rural, Messe Frankfurt Argentina and Exposium America Latina.

Most of the focus of the exhibition industry in the country is naturally focussed around Buenos Aires, where one of the newest developments is the planned construction of a new expo & convention centre in the heart of Recoleta.

To meet with the industry face to face the UFI MD Kai Hattendorf and I will be in Buenos Aires on Friday 29th April at an open meeting hosted by Juan Pablo Maglier, Chair of our Latin American Chapter.   We welcome anyone to come and join us.

Chilean mining sector leading the charge

People don't know very much about Chile.  It is an incredible country.  It is longer than the USA is wide - over 4000 kms long. In the north is the driest desert in the world - the Atacama, and in the south is Antartica.  And yet it is less then 200 kms wide all the way down, connected by the winding Panamerican highway.  

Chile is also one of the if not the most stable country in Latin America, both economically and politically, and has been for decades. It has the highest nominal GDP per capita in Lat Am, it is the first South American country to join the OECD and it produces 1/3 of the world's copper.

Expomin, run by FISA is the largest mining exhibition in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. Executive Director Carlos Parada Meyer asserts that:

" covering more than 90,000 square meters, the 14th edition of Expomin will have 1,300 exhibitors from 35 countries, representing over 60% of the global market. Over the last 25 years we have hosted 600,000 visitors and help generate sales of USD $11 billion."

Chile is also a very easy place to do business - often in Santiago (like in Buenos Aires) you can imagine yourself to be in a European city.  And yet why is Chile not on many people's radar - not only exhibitions but also in the wider business community?

The answer I guess is in the relatively small size of the economy - 41st biggest in the world just after Finland.  However leading figures from the exhibition industry from across Lat Am are heading there in a few weeks to try to change that.

AFIDA, the regional exhibition association for Latin American is hosting their 57th Congress in Santiago from 27-29 April, in Espacio Riesco, the country's leading exhibiton and congress venue and UFI's first member in Chile.

AFIDA President Ricardo Baquerizo (Expoplaza, Ecuador) is looking forward to welcoming delegates from across the region.

Speakers include UFI's Kai Hattendorf who will talk about his expert field - how the mega-trend digitalisation is affecting the world of exhibitions.  

I first visited Santiago as a fresh-faced tourist in 1993, and am very much looking forward to going back next month. We hope to meet and make friends with as many exhibition colleagues as possible during our short trip, with a view to not only growing the world of UFI in Chile, but also helping Chilean exhibitions do more busines on a world stage.

More on our Lat Am Chapter