Merck said it expects its consumer health business in Latin America to continue to at a presentation at the Financial Times Latin America Healthcare and Life Sciences Summit. “Our business is well positioned to anticipating the region’s rapidly changing demographics and responding to consumers’ healthcare needs," Merck Consumer Health President Uta Kemmerich-Keil said. Read More »

Benjamin Salinas Sada, an entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience in media and related enterprises, recently was named the new CEO of TV Azteca based in Mexico. Sara will replace Mario San Roman, who is now the vice chairman of the board, and has the responsibility of executing strategic projects and advising the CEO. Roman had held the position of CEO since 2004. Read More »

Mussulo Resort by Mantra near Conde in the state of Paraiba, Brazil, is now part of the Interval International network, a worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating business of Interval Leisure Group, Interval International said Sept. 30. The all-inclusive Mussulo Resort is located on 24 acres near Carapibus Beach, an area surrounded by barrier reefs. Read More »

Aeromexico and MEXICO2, an independent platform for trading carbon credits, recently signed an agreement that enables the airline to purchase certified emission reductions in order to meet international carbon guidelines. The international guidelines to offset carbon emissions call for carbon-neutral growth by 2020 with a 50 percent reduction by 2050 relative to 2005 levels. Read More »

ForeverGreen Worldwide Corp. (FG) announced Thursday it was granted sanitary registration for PowerStrips as a medical device risk 1 by the National Institute of Food and Drug Monitoring in Colombia.The registration represents a significant advance for the company in Colombia. FG also announced its company's MLM license application has been approved in Thailand. Read More »

Travelers Companies, Inc. recently purchased a majority interest in its property casualty joint venture J. Malucelli Participações em Seguros e Resseguros S.A. in Brazil. Based in Hartford, Connecticut, Travelers now owns 95 percent of the property casualty division of J. Malucelli. Paraná Banco, the parent company of J. Malucelli, retains the other 5 percent interest. Read More »

Grupo Kaltex recently selected Lectra Fashion PLM to assist the company in connecting design and product development teams at its U.S. subsidiary Revman International and its Mexican manufacturing division Kaltex Home. Both subsidiaries will adopt Lectra's platform to improve its structure and to align the process across its different design and development teams. Read More »

Element Financial Corporation recently purchased General Electric Capital Corporation's fleet management operations in Mexico, New Zealand and Australia. Element previously acquired the Canadian and U.S. operations of GE Capital's fleet management businesses. The combined fleet management business now accounts for approximately $13 billion of Element's total earning assets. Read More »

Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean declined to 5.6 percent of its population in 2014 compared with 6.2 percent in 2012, according to data released this week by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim who is in Peru for the World Bank-IMF annual meetings. The Latin American and Caribbean population in 2014 was about 525 million, according to figures from the World Bank. Read More »

Ituran Location and Control's Brazil subsidiary announced  a four-year association with a global automaker to offer telematics services in Brazil through a joint venture called Ituran Road Track (IRT). The venture is expected to become profitable in 2017. Ituran offers location-based services, most of them to recover stolen vehicle and tracking services. Read More »

Corporacion Lindley-Arca Continental Alliance launched its new plant in Pucusana district, Peru, last week. The facility is a $200 million investment and features the newest technology to produce both sparkling and still beverages. The structure enables the company to expand operations, reduce its environmental impact and contribute to the region's economic developmentn. Read More »

Neogás, a provider of natural gas services to energy consumers who lack access to a natural gas pipeline in the United States, Columbia, Peru, Mexico and Brazil, named R. Paul Grady as its new CEO on Thursday. Grady replaces João Bezzera, who was responsible for risk management projects across the organization. Grady previously was chief operating officer at AmeriGas. Read More »

The Ecuadorean state oil company Petroecuador will eliminate longstanding subsidies to premium gasoline in a gradual way while it reduces personnel and sells gasoline stations, all amid pressure from lower crude oil export revenue, the company´s chief official Carlos Pareja said. There will be an increase of 2 cents per gallon per month, so as to reach the $2.30 per gallon. Read More »

China's Haitong Bank S.A., the international investment bank of Haitong Securities, was recently honored as 2015 Bond of the Year in Latin Finance's Project and Infrastructure Finance Awards. Haitong Bank (formerly BESI) was recognized for its part in the Red Dorsal Finance Ltd. transaction, a 16-year, $274 million, 5.875 percent variable funding note. Read More »

ELL Technologies, a Lingo Media subsidiary, has recently announced their partnership with eDistribution, with the purpose of jointly developing language learning software options in Colombia; the contract guarantees that both companies will be able to make significant contributions to the education and professional opportunities for approximately seven million people across Colombia. Read More »

Archer Daniels Midland Company, an agricultural processor, recently announced that is has joined the Andean Family Farmers partnership in order to support Bolivian quinoa smallholder farmers; furthermore, through its social investment program, called ADM Cares, the company will provide funding to support the addition of a greatly needed irrigation project in southern Bolivia. Read More »

Missouri-based seed and herbicide giant Monsanto, which has operations in 10 Latin American countries in addition to Puerto Rico, said today that it will leave the sugar-cane business in Brazil, focusing instead on its seeds, crop protection and biological and digital agriculture business in the country. The closure of the sugar cane operations will affect 150 employees. Read More »

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced the creation of the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park, which added to other existing areas, will create one the world´s largest marine sanctuaries. The marine sanctuary in the Desventuradas is on the migration path of large marine mammals. Also included in the protected area are a number of places that sea birds use for nesting. Read More »

Tim Sheldon, president of Caribbean and Latin America operations at Marriott International, on Tuesday announced an anticipated 75-percent increase in Marriott's Caribbean and Latin American distribution between 2015 and 2018; the expected increase includes a tripling of the company's presence in Brazil with the addition of at least 11 new hotels spread across the market. Read More »

Suzhou Furukawa Power Optic Cable Co. Ltd. was awarded a new contract by Proyecto Infraestructura Del Peru, a subsidiary of ISA Colombia, for supply of Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) and fittings for one of the largest power transmission projects in Peru; SFPOC’s contract is for the supply of 980km of OPGW and associated hardware and fittings for one of the largest 500kV power transmission line projects in Peru owned by Proyectos De Infraestructura Del Peru, an extension in Peru of ISA Colombia that Read More »