With 37 million clients and 5,800 branches, Santander is the leading bank franchise in Latin America.

If you had any doubts about where the smart money is moving globally, you might want to take a look at Grupo Santander, the largest bank in the Euro-zone and one of the largest banks in the world. In recent interviews with everyone from Bloomberg to El País, Santander officials are understandably bullish on Argentina, Brazil and Latin America in general…so much so bank executives feel the region will outperform Asia in the coming years. Santander’s Director for the region Francisco Luzon sees the XXI century as Latin America’s inflection point: “In this century, Latin America will move beyond being a ‘developing’ region. Latin America has talent and structural competitive advantages that will make it a winner in the XXI century.” Luzon believes Latin America is the region best positioned to benefit from the process of globalization, while banks like Santander are well positioned to capitalize on the continued bancarización of LatAm. Santander estimates the financial systems of the seven core Latin countries—Brasil, México, Argentina, Chile, Perú, Colombia y Uruguay—have a current valuation of US$500 billion and could reach $1 trillion by 2015. If full-year projections for 2010 are any indication of what’s to come, it’s easy to understand why a bank like Santander sees the future in Latin America. According to Bloomberg, the region will account for 45% of the bank’s profit this year, up from 39% in 2009.

Crescente: Bovespa President Edemir Pinto & Banco do Brasil CEO Aldemir Bendine at this month's offering.

With the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics on the horizon, there’s no question about all eyes being on our neighbor to the north. With the world poised to descend on Brazil in the coming years, it is interesting to note how Brazil is beginning to look beyond its borders and engage with foreign countries. Right now, for example, the slopes of Bariloche are teeming with well-heeled paulistas and cariocas, and lilting Portuguese accents can be heard around BA’s finest restaurants and gallerias. But the Brazilian Foreign Investment Experiment (BFIE for short) is starting to expand well beyond tourism and into the boardroom with Argentina being the logical first step, says the Latin Business Chronicle. “The country’s corporate sector has embraced globalization,” writes LBC, “and many Brazilian companies have chosen neighboring Argentina for their first foreign venture. To date, over 400 Brazilian companies have done JV’s or outright purchases of Argentine companies in sectors ranging from cement to beverages to auto parts manufacturing. Now many olhos brasileiros are focusing on opportunities in the banking sectors. The analysts and professors interviewed by LBC describe the phenomenon of “follow sourcing” as a logical pattern where Brazilian banks are increasingly following their best corporate clients into Argentina to fund the growth and expansion of their Argentina subsidiaries. University of Palermo professor Rodolfo Rapán puts the importance of Brazil’s FDI in context: “Since 2003, an average of about $4 billion in foreign funds has flowed into Argentina each year, and 40 percent of those funds have come from Brazil.”  (Full article in English)

Any Questions?: Much like his country, striker Diego Forlan is slowly silencing Uruguay's skeptics.

One of the greatest story lines in this year’s World Cup has been Uruguay. When the tournament started June 11, many futbol experts believed they would lose in the First Round to the likes of mighty France and Mexico. All eyes and wagers were on perennial powerhouse neighbors Brazil and Argentina. When Uruguay advanced to the Round of 16, we contrasted the Maradona-stoked cockiness of Argentina with the humble, workmanlike approach of Uruguay. Now both neighbors are home and Uruguay is two wins away from hoisting its third World Cup. Marie Elena Martinez, a travel writer for the Miami Herald proves Uruguay’s skeptics are alive and well off the field as well. “A lover of big cities, I arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay with low expectations,” she writes, “I wasn’t sure Uruguay could offer anything different than South American spots more popular with tourists — Chile, Argentina and Brazil.” Arriving at Montevideo’s ultra-modern Carrasco International Airport is often a foreign visitor’s first taste that expectations will soon be exceeded. Over the course of her visit, Martinez discovers the beaches of Pocitos, the Mercado del Puerto, the Plaza Fabini and the 14-mile winding waterfront, La Rambla. By journey’s end, her confession is a familiar refrain among one-time doubters in the Switzerland of South America: “I was exhausted, but no longer skeptical. Yes, absolutely: Uruguay.” For more information about investment opportunities in Uruguay, visit our archives or download the July 2010 edition of InvestBA Privada.

All Smiles: More parents are discovering the joy of exploring Argentina with the whole family.

Anyone who has spent time in Argentina can tell you the high priority that’s placed on family time, especially quality time with the kids. On weekends, city clubs and parks around Buenos Aires and throughout the country swell with parents relaxing and kids running everywhere playing futbol, roller hockey, tennis, golf and, yes, even polo. No surprise then that Argentina comes up, not once, but three times in a Luxist interview with the founder of My Little Swans, a travel website for families who want to plan unforgettable holidays with the kids. The Australia-born, California-based founder and mother of three, Katrina Garnett, has been traveling the globe con los niños for 15 years. She says Argentina, where “we got to hike glaciers, ride horses across the pampas, zipline through the rainforest and rappel down waterfalls,” was one of her kids’ two favorite destinations. And even if you’re not planning a family trip, she says big kids can find lots of cool toys down here on the Pampas: “In the fall, my husband – who’s an avid art collector – and I are going with a few other friends on an art-themed trip to Argentina and Brazil.” Garnett says the favorable exchange rate is ample incentive for future travelers who can expect “plenty of exceptional luxury accommodations ranging from elegant hotels in Buenos Aires to big estancias in the countryside.” And if you are looking for family-oriented living in BA, take a look at Pinares, one of the featured luxury projects in this month’s InvestBA Privada.

Chinese advertisers are banking on scantily-clad models draped in Argentine and Brazilian jerseys.

Much to the delight of fans here in Argentina and Uruguay, the 2010 World Cup begins its month-long run tomorrow in South Africa. Earlier this week, we looked at Argentine and U.S. brands spending millions on sponsorship deals and advertisements to create an emotional connection with fan bases whose loyalty knows no bounds. But what happens when you have 1.3 billion fans and you don’t qualify for the 32-team field? Well, according to People’s Daily, you should capitalize on two truisms in advertising: 1.) Sex sells, and 2.) Associate yourself with winners. Toward that end, Chinese networks, advertisers and websites are all featuring dozens of local models draped in jerseys of Argentina, Brazil and other tournament favorites. “First off the plane will be the ‘Soccer Super Babes’ group G3, who are being touted as the first Chinese dancers to perform at the opening ceremony of the World Cup,” writes the Daily adding one minor detail, “there does seem to be a certain amount of ongoing discussion about when they will actually perform.” While CCTV will broadcast all 64 games, other Chinese networks will go a different route. Model Zhai Ling will host a program on World Cup fashion. Ironically, the article notes, she became famous for not wearing clothes on the Internet. Not to be outdone in the soccer skin game, another Chinese website “released 32 pictures of babes representing the squads, dressed in just bikini bottoms and body paint.” So even if they won’t be fielding a team this year, it seems China is setting a new standard for World Cup exposure. (Full Story)

The Bull Also Rises: Argentine developers avoided Spain's real estate expo like the plague this year. ¡Olé!

Saturday’s throat goring of a bullfighter in Madrid was more than a victory for animal lovers, it was a fitting sports analogy for the state of the Spanish economy. High unemployment, a housing collapse and a tumbling Euro have many analysts referring to Spain in the same breath with Portugal, Italy and Greece, or our new favorite acronym for European countries drowning in sovereign debt, the PIGS. Another Spanish acronym, SIMA, used to symbolize the glitz and glamor of the luxury real estate market in Spain. Hundreds of developers and thousands of buyers would descend upon Madrid each May in a second-home orgy of overpriced properties, over-eager agents and over-leveraged buyers. And while there was always a large delegation of Argentine developers at SIMA in years past, Reporte Inmobiliario says this year you can count them on one hand. The story notes that the term “real estate bubble” was frowned upon a couple of years ago in Spain (As in, “If you don’t say it, maybe it will never happen.”), but now it’s part of the daily vernacular, Spanish developers are being squeezed by their lenders, and the speculative throng that once roamed the halls of SIMA signing multiple contracts for overseas condos has been reduced to a few bargain hunters. Evidently the Argentine developers could see the writing on the wall and cancelled their Madrid reservations well in advance of this year’s Expo. Brazilian developers were also a no-show at this year’s SIMA, says RI, but for some strange reason the Uruguayan government chose to erect a huge booth. It’s the empty one on the attached article. (Full Story in Spanish)

Argentina sent 1.2 million tourists to Brazil in 2009, while the United States sent over 600,000.

At the height of the summer travel season, we posed the question, Where do Brazilians go when they need a little D&R (Descanso e Relaxmento)? Judging by the Portuguese-speaking throngs on the slopes of Bariloche or in the trendiest parrillas in Puerto Madero, we surmised, Argentina was a safe bet. Now the flip-side of that tourism coin: A record number of Argentines visited Brazil last year, and a major public/private sector marketing campaign is priming the tourism pump for more in 2010. Over 1.2 million Argentines visited Brazil in 2009, a 19% increase over 2008, in a year when total visitors to Brazil actually declined slightly by 5%. Argentines account for 1 out of every 4 visitors to the Mercosur neighbor followed by the United States which sent over 600,000 travelers to Brazil, roughly 12% of the 4.8 million total visitors. In an exclamatory effort to keep a good thing going, the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism, Embratur, recently launched an aggressive marketing campaign called ¡Brasil Ahora! (Brazil Now!). Full-page advertisements in Clarín and La Nación promote discounted vacation packages to beautiful Brazilian destinations like Florianópolis, Salvador, Búzios and Pipa. Fortunately for Argentines, there is no shortage of flights from Ezeiza and Aeroparque. Major airlines like GOL, TAM and Aerolíneas Argentinas are participating in the ¡Brasil Ahora! promotion, while short-haul carriers like Pluna and Buquebus offer attractive airfare options. Embratur says the goal of the campaign is to introduce foreign travelers to new Brazilian destinations in the years leading up to the 2014 World Cup. According to the government report, of the 1.2 million Argentine visitors, 77% entered Brazil for pleasure, the average stay was 11 days, and Florianópolis was the #1 destination.

Companies like Starbucks Argentina are taking the bold first steps in BA business social media.

While Facebook, Twitter and corporate blogs are de riguer social media tools for U.S. brands, the phenomenon is a relatively nascent one in Argentina according to an in-depth article by Florencia Radici for Cronista. It’s hard to pinpoint whether the Web 2.0 reluctance is motivated by fear of losing control of the message or the heavily flawed assumption that what they, Compañía X, have to say is more important than what consumers of  Compañía X have to say and share with fellow users and potential Compañía X converts. Yet major Argentine brands with hundreds of outlets and millions of customers either have no social media exposure or only a handful of followers on sites like Twitter. In fact, Argentina doesn’t even show up in Twitter’s global ranking on Alexa, while other Latin American countries account for a sizable percentage of the microblog’s traffic: Brazil (3.2%), Mexico (1.5%) and Venezuela (0.7%…thanks to El Loco Chávez, the Ashton Kutcher of Caracas.) Fortunately Radici says some BA companies are biting the social bala and engaging with customers via blogs and social networks. Many of these companies like Starbucks Argentina, Officenet Staples and IBM have U.S. ties and managers previously baptized in the waters of social media. Despite a slow start, Radici says BA companies are starting to warm to the idea of online customer engagement, and she points to two recent examples of BA2.0 brilliance include Nike runners twittering in the October 10K and Park Hyatt guests twittering with the concierge. (Full story in Spanish)

Automakers like Mercedes-Benz are benefiting from a luxury consumption boom in Argentina.

If March sales figures were any indication, 2010 will be a very good year for European luxury automakers exporting to Argentina. According to iProfesional; Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche all posted double or triple-digit gains in units sold compared to March 2009. Several factors are contributing to the current boom: the falling Euro, pent-up demand after automakers slashed production and exports in ‘09 and the introduction of several new luxury models in Argentina like the Audi A5 Sportback and the BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo. BMW posted the largest gain with a 142% increase in units sold; 44% of those were 300 series models. Porsche was second with a 100% increase in units sold, while Audi posted a 52% increase. Of the four main European luxury brands, Mercedes-Benz sold the most units (588) in March. And local analysts say the boom-de-lujo is not limited to autos; high-end consumer demand for fine watches, jewelry and whiskeys is also strong thanks in large part to the strength of the Brazilian economy which is being described as an umbrella for Argentine companies posting record exports of cars, appliances and textiles to consumption-minded Brazil. Inflation has also forced the hand of Argentine retailers who are offering attractive, peso-denominated payment plans on goods once reserved for the upper class like large-screen LCD televisions. iProfesional also credits the European automakers for offering attractive financing plans like BMW’s four-year, 0% interest plan and bringing entry-level model prices down to around US$30,000.  (Full article)

BatiGol & DirecTV: Legendary striker Gabriel Batistuta promotes DirecTV's World Cup coverage.

Channel surfing in many parts of Latin America is often referred to as “zapping.” If yesterday’s quarterly earnings release is any indication, subscribers across the region—especially in Argentina and Brazil—are “zapping” their local cable provider in favor of DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV). The California-based satellite television provider reported double-digit growth in revenue ($5.6 billion) and free cash flow ($1.03 billion), and record subscriber growth in Latin America played a critical role. The Company added a record 221,000 net new LatAm subscribers in the first quarter of 2010 “primarily due to strong growth in Brazil, Colombia and Argentina” raising the total number of regional subscribers to over 7 million. New subscriber growth has been aided by an aggressive regional marketing campaign promoting DIRECTV service and HD picture quality for the upcoming World Cup. The Company offers Latin consumers a variety of packages including bundled Internet and local calling services starting around US$50 per month while non-HD, basic packages cost closer to $30/month. Average monthly revenue per subscriber in Latin America is $55 compared to $85 in the U.S. With only 35 days until the World Cup, it’s likely DIRECTV will post strong Latin American subscriber growth this quarter as well, especially in Argentina, Brazil and the other five Latin countries sending teams to Johannesburg. And even though Colombia didn’t qualify this year, odds are those Caracol telenovela actresses look even better in HD too.