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Good and happy Thursday! The story of the week, and the reason why this week’s edition of El Semanal Express came out last night, is that of the raids on the homes of three of the casino industry’s most powerful executives, including Henry Comber, the right-hand man of the Davis family – controllers of EuroAmerica. and one of the princes of Sanhattan, he couldn’t wait.
In addition, I am celebrating my wedding anniversary in Jujuy, northern Argentina, and the idea is to disconnect for a couple of days.
On the agenda this week: Chile’s inflation data (still bad) and those from the United States. Today it was learned that in July prices did not increase, that is, inflation remained neutral. In the market, they anticipated that the monthly data would advance by 0.2%. On a year-on-year basis, the figure slowed to 8.5%, the fall in fuel prices was the key factor.
What it means. It takes some pressure off the Federal Reserve when it comes to raising interest rates and the same for the Central Bank of Chile.
Before starting with what summons us, I want to invite you to share or join El Semanal, and El Semanal Exprés, so that our community continues to grow. Subscribe to or share this newsletter. And take advantage of the fact that we have an OFFER this week.
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1- THE FNE PUTS CASINOS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
What happened?. The homes of three casino executives were raided by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) in a confidential investigation for collusion. The PDI reached the home of Jaime Wilhelm, CEO of Dreams; Nicolás Imschenetzky, president of Marina del Sol; and that of Henry Comber, current president of Enjoy and one of the aristocrats of Sanhattan, right-hand man of the Davis family, controllers of EuroAmerica.
Research under reservation. It began on February 3. Sources who know some details of the case claim that the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office is investigating a possible agreement between the casinos not to compete in the places that were currently awarded in the Superintendency of Gaming Casinos and thus pay less guaranteed minimums. The FNE reportedly seized computers and documents.
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2- STAGFLATION HAS ARRIVED
What happened?. Stagflation has arrived. The former president of the Central Bank, Roberto Zahler, said it this week and the figures support it. In July, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered a monthly variation of 1.4%, above what the market anticipated, accumulating a twelve-month increase of 13.1%. And there are no signs that prices will start to cool. In August, annual inflation above 14% is anticipated. And if we add to that the fact that non-mining activity is already in technical recession and employment is almost not growing, Chileans will go to the polls in the midst of a very complex economic scenario.
In short, on the way to the exit plebiscite the economy is stagnant and inflation shows no signs of slowing down.
Two former presidents of the Central Bank are more optimistic. One is Mario Marcel, the current finance minister, who in the week said inflation will begin to loosen at the end of the year. The other is Vittorio Corbo. The economist was at Icare and pointed out that the BC is doing its job.
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A message from VanTrust Capital
For more information click on the image
Vantrust Capital launches first distributed-scale sustainable energy fund in Chile.
More than 50 million dollars seeks to raise the first distributed-scale sustainable energy fund launched by Vantrust Capital, together with the Belgian company Solcor, which they define as a triple impact investment. This is because it generates returns in the short term, a decrease in the price of electricity and in environmental matters contributes to the decarbonization of the energy matrix, meeting the environmental objectives of our country for 2030.
Distributed energy generation refers to the fact that energy is produced in the same place where it is consumed, in this way producers acquire energy autonomy through the installation of photovoltaic panels that avoid large areas of wiring, is 100% clean and contributes to having a developed and eco-sustainable country.
The Vantrust Renewable Energy Investment Fund – which already has aEve active projects and 40 projects to be built in the coming months, and has as its pillar the investment in solar projects of Net Billing – it is open to all people and investors.
Full information can be found at this link or by clicking on the image.
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3- LUKSIC’S SOAP OPERA IN PARAGUAY
Source: ABC Color/Twitter
What happened?. The U.S. decision to appoint Paraguay’s former president, Horacio Cartes, to the list of “significantly corrupt” figures and ban him from entering the country has the Luksic Group at a crossroads. Cartes is a partner of the holding company in CCU Paraguay, in addition to the fuel and service station business, Enex.
The urgency of the situation was reflected in the fact that on the weekend Andronikos Luksic personally, as president of CCU, made a whirlwind trip. He arrived in Asunción to meet with Cartes, accompanied by general manager Patricio Jottar. For Enex were the chairman of the board, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, and the general manager Nicolás Correa. They were accompanied by the prosecutor of Quiñenco and former Minister of the Interior of the first Government of Sebastián Piñera, Rodrigo Hinzpeter. The objective was to know in person the background of the case and review the clauses of the shareholders’ agreements.
Why the urgency. An expert in compliance and corporate affairs explains that having your partner declared corrupt in Washington and with their assets frozen triggers all kinds of compliance problems for companies with business in the United States and Wall Street. There are regulations that must be complied with, investment funds that would have to sell their shares, banks that could not or would not grant credits, to name just a few of the problems. Luksic already has Wall Street lawyers working on the case.
What options are evaluated. This week there will be directories of the Luksic Group. At the close of this newsletter, the CCU and Enex bulletins were organized. It is also evaluated that the Quiñenco table will meet. No option is easy and there is consensus that it must be resolved quickly. In Quiñenco they do not say much, but the most obvious option is to break society. And that can be done by buying their share from Cartes in the two businesses in which they are partners, or selling and leaving.
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4- NO CLEATS OR TIES, EXPRESS
– The fine print of the credits and bank commissions is over. This week the Commission for the Financial Market (CMF) issued a rule that sets the requirements for the collection of commissions when granting a loan. It establishes criteria so that something can be called a commission and is not considered an interest. Those charges that do not conform to the regulatory requirements, must be considered for the purposes of compliance with the applicable Maximum Conventional Rate (TMC) and that will result in lower costs for consumers.
Why it’s relevant. Because by not adding as interest a certain charge when granting a loan, you were not affected by the interest limit that is the TMC, and some financial institutions, banks and financial retail took advantage of the legal vacuum and the total cost of the credit exceeded what the Central Bank establishes.
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The United States is increasingly concerned about China’s advance in the lithium market and Chile is part of the plot. A report by Argentine columnist Carlos Pagni says laura J. Richardson, chief general of the U.S. Army’s Southern Command, warned at a meeting in Miami that “there is a geopolitical play behind lithium. There is a breakthrough by China on lithium in Latin America in the lithium triangle – Argentina, Bolivia and Chile – to undermine democracy.”
– The CEO of Enel Americas explains why in Greater Buenos Aires the duration of power cuts is six times that of Chile and twice that of other cities in Latin America. Maurizio Bezzeccheri, who last week participated in Diálogos de El Mostrador, said – in an interview in La Nación de Argentina – that in 22 years it got worse: the duration of the cuts was 6 hours and now they are more than 12 hours. In Italy it is 70 minutes and in Santiago, 2.5 hours.
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5- THE TABLE: THE GOAL TO HAVE A CONNECTED COUNTRY
To see the full interview, click on the image.
Pelayo Covarrubias, president of Fundación País Digital. “By 2025 we want to have all of Chile, all territories, connected.”
It is the objective of one of the emblematic projects that Fundación País Digital is working on for the digitalization of Chile: “Connecting Territories”. In an extensive interview in La Mesa de El Mostrador, Covarrubias points out that the phenomenon of digital is revolutionizing SMEs.
He explains that the program seeks to deliver the Internet to different isolated communities in our country, empowering the inhabitants with training in digital literacy for adults, digital skills for students and digitalization of businesses for entrepreneurs, and strengthening the local economy. It has already been possible to connect more than 45,000 people from remote communities, many in the Region of La Araucanía and Ñuble.
In the interview, Covarrubias also highlights that Chile is a regional leader in connectivity, as well as in connection speed. In addition, it stresses that there is a direct relationship between greater connectivity and higher GDP per capita.
To see the full interview, click on this link or on the image.
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