Brazil and Honduras for the long term GDP growth in Latin America 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Argentina –10.9 8.8 9 9.2 8.5 8.4 6.1 4.6 Bolivia 2.5 2.7 4.2 4 4.6 4 4.4 4.3 Brazil 2.7 1.2 5.7 3.1 3.7 5.1 4.4 4.2 Chile 2.2 4 6 5.7 4 5.3 4.4 4.9 Colombia 1.9 3.9 4.9 4.7 6.8 6.8 5 4.8 Costa Rica 2.9 6.4 4.3 5.9 8.8 6.4 4.6 4.8 Cuba 1.5 2.9 4.4 9 12 6.5 6.1 5.1 Dom. Republic 4.3 0.5 1.2 9.5 10.7 7.9 4.9 4.3 Ecuador 4.2 3.6 8 6 3.9 2.1 2.6 2.2 El Salvador 2.3 2.3 1.8 2.8 4.2 4.2 2.9 2.5 Guatemala 3.9 2.5 3.2 3.5 5 5.2 3.6 3.5 Honduras 2.7 3.5 5 4 6 6.1 3.3 4 Jamaica 1.1 2.3 1 1.4 2.5 1.3 1.7 2.4 Mexico 0.8 1.4 4.2 2.8 4.8 3.2 2.6 3.7 Nicaragua 0.8 2.5 6.6 3.1 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.1 Panama 2.2 4.2 7.5 7.2 8.7 9.2 7.8 7.3 Paraguay 0 3.8 4.1 2.9 4.3 5.4 4.1 3.9 Peru 5.2 3.9 5.2 6.5 8 8.5 6.6 6.4 Uruguay –11.0 2.2 11.8 6.6 7 6.5 4.3 3.9 Venezuela –8.9 –7.8 18.3 10.3 10.3 8.6 5.6 3.8 Total 0.5 1.9 6 4.4 5.4 5.3 4.1 4.2 Source: Fed Reserve Bank of Atlanta, International Monetary Fund, Consensus Economics, Latin Focus, JP Morgan, and the Economist Intelligence Unit.Chinese Bargain Hunting in U.S. Chinese people are signing up to come to the U.S. with the single aim to buy homes on the cheap. Tours are being organized by Soufun.com, one of China's largest real estate portals, for investors who want to take advantage of slumping U.S. real estate prices. But it's not cheap. Fees equal a one-year annual income for some, plus airfare, but the Chinese see this a long-term investment. Investors seek housing for young children who may wish to study in the U.S., to use while here on business trips, and/or to lease. Investors are also looking at commercial properties. Trips are being focused largely on east and west coast cities where there are large Chinese immigrant populations. Aside from bargain prices, Chinese investors are drawn to the U.S. due to limited investment options at home where real estate and stock prices peaked in Oct. '07. Economists estimate that tens of billions of dollars began leaving the country during 4Q 2008 as Chinese investors began bargain-hunting. Latin America Still Looking Strong With much of the world in a downward spiral, Latin America remains a relatively good value. According to the Global Property Guide, many currencies within the region have partially followed the dollar down, but GDP growth has risen in select markets, and is up .1% in 2009, thus far, over 2008 for the entire 20-country region. Factors cited for the growth include globalization, which has put pressure toward adoption of sound economic policies; and retirees--many from the U.S. Get a detailed profile of the region and learn which markets are viewed as key picks.
In Brazil and Honduras there is no compelling macro-economic investment case. But both countries have good beaches and are good hunting grounds for long-term investors, looking 15 years ahead.
