ALABC Newsletters

Panama, centrally located between North America and South America, offers the ideal environment to make your business grow stronger due to its political and economic  stability, besides other advantages, such as the multimodal logistics platform and great air and sea connectivity. The Panama Canal, ports and air hub, the financial district with more than 70 banks, Colon Free Trade Zone, the second largest in the world, allow connection to be made with a market of more than 600 million users in Latin America and the Caribbean.     

The Embassy of Panama in Australia and Pro Panama invites businesspeople to attend Panama’s first virtual, multi-sectorial, international trade exhibition. This virtual exhibition will provide a chance to see the products and services that participating companies have to offer in the areas of: ·       

Coffee – Cocoa - Chocolate      

Fresh Products      

Seafood – Aquaculture - Meat Products      

Agro-Industrial Products  

Industrial Products      

Creative Industries      

Services   

Over the five days, there will be two conferences held per day with the first beginning at 9:00 am GMT –5 and the second at 2:00 pm GMT -5. 

Benefits for visitors 

 1.  Without complex registration processes. 

 2.  Secure and immediate access. 

 3.  Compatible with all mobile devices. 

 4.  Availability 24 hours. 

 5.  No congestion, no lines.

6.  No visual or auditory contamination. 

ExpoVirtual is a virtual international business platform that will help us to improve trade and the economic development of Panama, the region and the world. Join us at the 1st ExpoVirtual and take advantage of all the great business opportunities that it will provide.   

The schedule of conferences is as follows: 

Monday 6th 

The competitiveness of export SMEs in the new business context. Hosted by Diego Frediani – General Manager, Red Globlal de Exportaciones How to do business with Canada? Hosted by Marysabel González – Project Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean / Trade Support Services TFO – Canada. 

Tuesday 7th 

How to do business with Australia?

Hosted by Marcelo Salas – Chief Executive Officer, Australia-Latin America Business Council (ALABC). How to do business with Israel (FTA)? Hosted by Salvador Aviad Cattan – Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture Panama – Israel; Roberto Spindel – President Israel - Latin American Chamber of Commerce. 

Wednesday 8th Technology:   

Blockchain   for exporting  business.    

Hosted by David Proenza – CEO de Foodchain. E-commerce to boost your business exports. Hosted by Raquel García – Assistant Vice President of E-commerce – Credicorp Bank, CAPATEC’s President. 

Thursday 9th: 

Market value chains and its benefits. Hosted by Eduardo Espinoza – Director of the Centre for Studies on Economic Integration – SIECA. The new productivity, a decision not an option for the export sector. Hosted by Alex Atencio – CEO of iaConcepts. 

Friday 10th: 

Creative Industries, an alternative for development. Hosted by Leda Peralta – Economic Affairs Officer (ECLAC). The fashion industry as a development motor. Hosted by Samantha Tams – Co-founder Latam Fashion Summit – LAFS. 

People, who are interested in attending, can use this link to register: 

expovirtualpropanama.com 

 or 

contact our diplomatic mission in Canberra:   

Mail: embpanamaaustralia@mire.gob.pa 

Phone: +61 61346737 

 Address : Suite 2, level 2, 99 Northbourne Avenue, Turner, ACT 2612, Canberra, Australia. 

Social Media: @embpanamaaustralia 

Web: https://mire.gob.pa/ministerio/australia/

PDF Annual Report 2020.pdf

On May 13, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted the online webinar “Innovation and Technology in Latin America’s Post-Pandemic Recovery” with the participation of Carmen Pagés-Serra, Chief of the Labor Markets and Social Security Unit at the Inter-American Development Bank, Andrés Cadena, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Co., Ángel Melguizo, Vice President, External & Regulatory Affairs at AT&T DirecTV Latin America, and Victor Muñoz, National Innovation and Digital Transformation Advisor at the Colombian Presidency. The session was moderated by Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue.

Muñoz began by emphasizing the necessity and importance of telework, telemedicine, and tele-education. While the present situation has forced many companies to quickly adjust in order to survive, the resulting shift to digital platforms also provides access to new forms of learning for people all over the world. As an advisor to the Colombian president, Muñoz and his team have been working on a digital transformation strategy for the last two years, including the creation of a center in Medellín focused on artificial intelligence. With the pandemic, new instruments have emerged from his department such as the “Coronapp” which allows citizens to receive daily information from the government without consuming data. Muñoz identified Colombia’s main challenge to be connectivity, and he intends to work to increase access in vulnerable areas in the next two years. He ended his remarks on a hopeful tone: while the job market will be very different after the pandemic, it will also present an opportunity to reinvent a new world supported by technology and innovation.

Mauricio Montalvo is currently the Ambassador of Ecuador to Australia.

Ambassador Montalvo is a senior career diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  He entered to the Ecuadorian Foreign Service as Third Secretary in 1982 and continued his career in different posts locally and oversees.  He was promoted to the rank of Ambassador in 2005.

He has served overseas as Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva (2006-2011), Deputy Head of Mission at the Permanent Delegation to UNESCO in Paris (1996-2001), First Secretary at the Permanent Mission to United Nations in New York (1990-1992) and Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission to OAS in Washington DC (1987-1989).

At the Ministry, he was most recently Under-Secretary for International Cooperation (2018-2019), Under-Secretary for Multilateral Affairs (2011-2014) and Under-Secretary for International Organizations (2005-2006).  Previously and during several years he served as Coordinator, Director General, Spokesperson and Diplomatic Officer.

International students will receive a relief payment of up to $1,100 as part of a Victorian Government emergency support package that will help tens of thousands of people across our state.

International students are a vital part of our education system, our economy and our community. They give so much to Victoria – not just through the fees they pay, but also through the economic activity they generate for our businesses, and the contribution they make to our vibrant, inclusive society.

Like so many people during this pandemic, international students have been affected by casual job losses in retail and hospitality, making it even tougher for them to make ends meet. Many have also fallen through the cracks of Federal Government programs – unable to access the support they need to support themselves.

To ensure Victoria’s international students can buy the basics and get through to the other side of the crisis, the Victorian Government will establish a $45 million International Student Emergency Relief Fund.

The fund will provide a one-off payment to students in need while expanding emergency provisions for those experiencing exceptional circumstances.

Up to 40,000 international students enrolled at Victorian universities, TAFEs, private vocational education and training providers and English language colleges who have lost wages and work due to the coronavirus pandemic could benefit from the relief payment, which covers demonstrated lost income up to $1,100.

The payments, which will require co-contributions from university hardship funds, build on existing Victorian Government support provided to international students through the Study Melbourne Student Centre such as free legal aid and mental health services.

More than 150,000 international students currently living in Victoria are also eligible for the Victorian Government’s rent relief program, including subsidies of up to $2,000, and those legally allowed to work in Victoria are eligible for the Working for Victoria initiative, which helps people who have lost their jobs to find new employment.

International education generated $12.6 billion revenue for Victoria last financial year, supporting around 79,000 jobs, with most students coming from China, India, Nepal, Malaysia and Vietnam.

For more information about the relief fund and other dedicated support, go to studymelbourne.vic.gov.au.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade Martin Pakula

“International students give so much to Victoria – it’s only fair we support them in their hour of need.”

“This virus doesn’t discriminate and neither do we – we are in this together and we will get through it together.” 

Quote attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino

“It’s important that we back the people who have made such a strong commitment to our state, and we will make sure that our education providers can emerge from the other side of this crisis in a position to quickly rebuild.”

Quote attributable to Minister for Training and Skills and Higher Education Gayle Tierney

“We’ll continue to work closely with the sector to give international students the support they need so they can continue to focus on their studies.”

RELATED DOCUMENTS: 

200429-Emergency-Support-For-Victoria’s-International-Students.pdf

WEG announced the signature of a technology transfer agreement with LEISTUNG Equipamentos Ltda., Manufacturer of Medical-Hospital Equipment, to produce artificial ventilators that will be used by patients tested positive for COVID-19.

The contract, signed between the companies, grants WEG the license to produce the ventilator based on the mechanical ventilation device “Luft-3” from LEISTUNG.

WEG will use the current structure of its factories in Jaraguá do Sul, in the state of Santa Catarina, to produce ventilators and works with the possibility of adjusting the project to speed up production.The plan is to immediately purchase all required components in order to produce 500 ventilators. Once the production line is installed, WEG will have an estimated capacity to produce 50 ventilators per day and deliver in mid-May.

“We now depend on obtaining electronic and pneumatic components, many of which are imported and are currently in short supply in the market”, says Manfred Peter Johann, Managing Director of WEG Automation.

The implementation of the production line will follow all heath hygiene protocols and other protective measures recommended by health authorities for all industries.

RELATED LINKS: 

https://www.weg.net/institutional/US/en/news/products-and-solutions/weg-to-produce-artificial-ventilators-for-patients-tested-positive-for-covid-19

RELATED DOCUMENTS: 

WEG to produce ventilators1.pdf

http://coronavirus.apexbrasil.com.br/investidores/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social_apex&utm_campaign=coronavirus&utm_content=cv0008

On health and economic costs it explains that:

• Three areas may help understand and address the shock.
• “Assessing the economic cost per life saved requires an estimate of the death toll Covid-19 would have imposed in the absence of containment measures. For example, the influential epidemiological study by the Imperial College in London predicted 2.2 million deaths in the US in the absence of decisive action to contain the epidemic. If 2 million deaths could be avoided thanks to containment measures, the economic cost would amount to less than USD 0.5 million per life saved (this is USD 1 trillion divided by 2 million). Given that the estimates for the statistical value of a life in the US fall in the range of USD 6-9 million, the cost of the containment measures adopted is totally justified.”
• “Governments in developing countries could use similar back-of-the-envelope calculations to get a sense of the economic cost that could be justified in their case to contain the Covid-19 epidemic. The calculation would involve two key figures: the assessment of the number of deaths the epidemic would cause if left uncontained, and the value of statistical life used by agencies in charge of developing transport infrastructure, developing health and safety standards or setting environmental policy.”

On addressing the economic crisis, it states that:

• Moves to prevent a financial crisis, to protect jobs and to revitalize private investment, “will entail a change in the relationship between the public and the private sector, leading to a greater role of the state for possibly quite some time.”
• “The process of acquiring and managing assets needs to be perceived as transparent and professional to maintain confidence in the government. This may also allow decision makers to take urgently needed measures without fearing prosecution in the future.”
• “In the medium term, the priority has to be the divestiture of state assets to the private sector. Individual cases will need to be reviewed, and balance sheet repair solutions be designed. Benchmark-linked sales of government shares in companies will have to be arranged. While this is not an immediate priority, government should communicate clearly on the direction of travel, establishing a timeline and setting up sunset clauses wherever appropriate.

Please read the full report below:

The LatAm Economy in the time of Covid-19_World Bank.pdf

• Amid the coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns and aggressive social-distancing measures are required to save lives and countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have put them in place.
• As a result of the changing macroeconomic conditions, financing costs for emerging markets have risen and commodity prices have fallen.
• There will be large drops in GDP, but this is not a normal recession, so typical countercyclical demand management, both fiscal and monetary, is likely inconducive.
• Policies should be aimed to provide relief, maintain economic stability and the core of the economy intact for the recovery.

RELATED LINKS: 

https://flagships.iadb.org/en/MacroReport2020/Policies-to-Fight-the-Pandemic

In early March, the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Jobs’ Global Victoria hosted three female leaders from Latin America to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and promote collaboration between the 60 international delegates that visited overall and Victorian stakeholders. 

Claudia Bobadilla, Executive President of the Industrial Telecommunication Association in Chile and CSIRO Board Member and Juanita Rodriguez, Vice-Chancellor of Innovation at EAN University in Bogotá participated in the Global Victoria Women’s Business Summit (GVw) from 5-8 March 2020 which showcased Victoria’s world-class capabilities in STEM; Transport/Infrastructure; Sport and Medical Technology and Pharmaceuticals. Claudia learnt about the work of Monash University, CSIRO and the Australian Synchrotron in driving world-leading research, and partnership opportunities. Juanita visited the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project at Parkville and experienced first-hand the innovative and sustainable Arup engineering office in the Docklands as part of the infrastructure program. Both had the opportunity to connect with influential female leaders from women driving key medical research projects to women leading major road projects in Victoria as part of the state’s $70 billion infrastructure program. 

Claudia Bobadilla also featured as the keynote speaker at the ALABC boardroom luncheon held on 6 March 2020 at Global Victoria’s International Chamber House which included participation by Australia’s Ambassador to Colombia and Venezuela HE Sophie Davies. Claudia shared her insights on drivers behind the recent social unrest in Chile following 40 days of being completely immersed amongst the most affected communities. A key lesson Claudia took away was the importance of companies incorporating social values in their business plans and strategies to ensure dignity for all. 

Following GVw was the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF). Dr Maria Carrasco, a leading fashion commentator in Chile and practising Psychiatrist travelled to Melbourne to attend a full program of activities during VAMFF including attending exclusive runways shows; meet and greets with Melbourne designers; visits to the RMIT design studio and fashion school LCI as well as walking through the latest exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria.