This latest in the Master’s Trade Routes series covers Latin America – the UK’s “Forgotten Continent”.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, Latin America bought a third of its imports from the UK with British companies accounting for c.40% of its inward investment, building most of the region’s transport infrastructure. Since then imports from and to the UK have sunk a mere 2-2.5%, on a par with sub-Saharan Africa. With a population of 650mn and GDP for the Region bordering on US$7tn, the opportunity is clear. So why does it appear so difficult?
Liveryman Cristina Cortes, formerly CEO at Canning House has assembled a first-rate panel of specialists, led by Andrew Thompson, formerly head of the BBC’s Latin American Service and a Senior Analyst with Menas Associates. Joining Andrew is a panel of speakers including:
Vera Innes, Chair of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain and partner in Brazilian law firm with offices in London (Aroeira Salles Advogados); Mark Titley, Senior Research Associate with Global Canopy of the UK and a founding partner of Trase, a digital platform that provides data and analysis on the links between agricultural commodity trade and deforestation, emissions and other environmental impacts (In partnership with the Stockholm Environment Institute); Horacio Rossi, Honorary Vice-President at Canning House and Projects Director at Mott MacDonald, a management, engineering and development consultancy headquartered in the United Kingdom; and James McKeigue, Base Metals Editor at Fastmarkets, a cross-commodity price reporting agency in the agriculture, forest products, metals and mining, and energy markets, and previously, Editor of LatAm Investor, the UK's only investment magazine focussed on Latin America.
Guests will have a chance to quiz our experts during the panel Q&A and also over the refreshments and canapés that follow.