Business as usual

Like life, business is a mix of things that you enjoy doing and others that you must do. Sometimes things go as planned, or even better, and others fail despite your efforts. These last weeks has been a mix of all the above. I was sick - with fever - from 8 until the 12 and got back to work only on 14 January. It started with a head of section’s meeting where we talked about President Bachellet`s change of cabinet. I have been answering commercial enquiries from British companies interested in this market from very different sectors such as GPS, cables, equipment for fumigation, biotechnology, aquaculture, and PR for local British companies. I had a very interesting meeting advising a British company interested in participating in a tender in the energy sector and I participated in a meeting with the Ambassador and Diageo´s representative to talk about their presence in the market.

Last week we  had some positive news from companies that I have been working with or assisting. One company won an important tender and a British consultancy firm has been asked to participate in the advisory committee for the Ministry of Transport. However, on the other hand, another company that we have been supporting decided to withdraw their participation in Chilean PPP projects. So, as I mentioned,  this is just how things are. Hopefully at work you could end up enjoying doing things that at the beginning you thought were things that you just have to do.

Posted at 12:05 21 January 2008 by Maria Pia Gazzella  | 

In Buenos Aires

I have spent the last 2 days in Buenos Aires participating in a workshop on implementing UK Trade and Investment strategy. Delegates from Peru, Argentina and Chile participated, making the learning process more valuable since we were able to share our best practice to deliver better services to our clients.

I arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday, the same day as the Government Elections for President. The quietness and order in the city positively surprised me, but some Argentines I spoke with suggested that it was due to an apathy for the election since it was well known who the winner was going to be. Cristina Kirchner, wife of the current President, became the first woman to be elected president in Argentina's history.

I asked Simon Brier, Head of UKTI 's Commercial Section in Buenos Aires, about the impact of this election on Argentina’s economy. He explained how rapid economic growth (8-9% p.a.) has been one of Argentina's strengths during the (Nestor) Kirchner Presidency. He said that many analysts believe growth will continue, but they also see some economic challenges (e.g. on inflation and energy). He added that Cristina's electoral campaign messages suggest that she will be active in promoting foreign investment in Argentina. 

So, without getting into politics, the better the economic prospects in neighbouring countries are, the better we are positioned to identify useful opportunities for British companies that could operate/sell their products in South America.

I got back to Santiago late at night and unfortunately now my husband is in US for 3 weeks and our paths only crossed at the airport.

Posted at 15:35 02 November 2007 by Maria Pia Gazzella  |