Fitch Ratings has promoted Alejandro Garcia, its current managing director, to analytical head of Latin American financial institutions. Read More »

Wilsonart Engineered Surfaces has announced an agreement with Maderas y Sinteticos (Masisa) to supply Masisa’s high pressure laminate (HPL) design line in Mexico, effective immediately. Read More »

Juan Carlos Varela, president of Panama, recently announced that the country will make a $1 billion (USD) investment on a 500 MW of utility-scale solar-energy and a $50 million world-class solar and environmental research center, which will be designed to focus on various research studies regarding photovoltaic (PV) innovation and environmental sciences. Read More »

Sintana Energy said Thursday that drilling and casing on its Manati Blanco-1 exploration well in Colombia Block VMM-37 in the Magdalena Basin has reached a depth of approximately 14,500 feet. Further analyses will be performed to evaluate the potential of the block. Drilling on the well began in April and aimed at the La Luna and Tablazo/Paj Cretaceous-age oil formation. Read More »

Rollins has acquired a new franchise in El Salvador to offer customers pest control services through its wholly owned Orkin subsidiary. With locations in five other Latin America countries, this addition expands the company's presence in the region. Orkin employees in El Salvador will attend initial training in Atlanta and in Panama. Read More »

Jubilant DraxImage Inc. today announced the delivery of the first commercial shipment of HICON Sodium Iodine I-131 Solution USP to Colombia. HICON Sodium Iodine I-131 Solution is indicated for the treatment of thyroid diseases including hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. Patients in Colombia who have thyroid conditions are now able to receive INVIMA-approved Radioiodine therapy. Read More »

Nobel Agril announced Marcelo de Andrade as its new global sugar president and Valmor Shaffer as its South America president. Both will be based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and report to CEO Matthew Jansen. Andrade has more than two decades of experience in the commodities sector. Previously, he was sugar and ethanol business director at Cargill, generating $270 million in revenue. Read More »

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) introduced the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act to alter current prohibitions against U.S. backing and financing for certain exports to Cuba in the House. The Cuba agriculture market is valued at more than a $1 billion a year. Crawford said the a legislation would create innovative economic prospects and jobs for the U.S. agriculture industry. Read More »

The Colombian antitrust authority recently sanctioned Colombian sugar companies and industry groups after finding them guilty of creating a cartel to block imports of sugar from other regional countries. Read More »

Companies in Latin America, including multinationals with a regional presence, do more to fight poverty than governments, Techo, an organization with a $35 million annual budget that has mobilized 800,000 volunteers since it was founded  to help the Latin American poor, said. Read More »

Brazil's Gamesa received an order from Votorantim Energy to supply, transport, install and commission 98 G114-2.0 MW turbines at seven wind farms in Piau, a state in northeast Brazil, by the end of 2017. Read More »

ET Solar Chile announced Monday an association with the Brazil-based company WEG to supply the Brazilian market with turnkey photo-voltaic (PV) solutions and also operations and maintenance services in the region.Both companies are already designing solutions for their specific needs and expect to begin construction during the first quarter 2016.  Read More »

Hydro has signed a letter of intent to acquire Brazilian mining company Vale's 40 percent interest in Mineracao Rio do Norte (MRN), a Brazilian bauxite producer. The purchase is contingent on several factors, including approval from both parties' boards and regulatory authoirities. Read More »

Verint Systems and Scitum, a managed security service provider based in Mexico, said on Monday that they are teaming up to protect government organizations and enterprises in Mexico from advanced cyber threats. Read More »

Emergent Payments has announced a new platform for payment solution to support e-commerce entrepreneurs in Brazil, called the Jumpstart Brazil, which aims to simplify the payment on online transactions, in addition to offering 23 local solutions to online shops; the Brazilian e-commerce presents an annual 24 percent growth and is expect to be worth $20 billion (USD) in 2015. Read More »

Pablo Otin was named solar power provider 8minutenergy Renewables new Vice President of Business Development in Latin America Monday. The solar company expects to develop 2.000 megawatts of solar photovoltaic projects in Latin America by 2020. Otin was Country Manager for Gestamp Solar in North America, where he was responsible for 11 operational projects and securing PPA contracts. Read More »

Latin American executives still fail to understand the importance of “reputational risk” in social media in a region with 340 million Internet users, communications expert and writer Alberto Arebalos told Latin Business Daily. Read More »

The most recent wealth report published by Credit Suisse said Latin American household wealth declined 17.1 percent between mid-2014 and mid-2015, making it the region with the steepest wealth drop. Read More »

Technology company Savcor recently upgraded its Suzano Pulp and Paper’s anodic protection system in Brazil. Pulp and Paper is investing in the much-needed upgrade of the Savcor Anodic Protection System in the digester 1 of its Mucuri Unit in Bahia, Brazil. Upgrades to the anodic protection system include the replacement of internal protection elements in the digester. Read More »

Kristine Senft has been announced as the vice president of sales and marketing at Hovione, where she will be based on East Windsor, New Jersey, and report to Guy Villax, who is the company's chief executive officer; previously, Senft held the same position at DSM Pharmaceutical Chemicals in Vienna, Austria, where she was responsible for regional and global marketing and sales organization. Read More »