Panama is the only country in the region which has improved considerably in the use of information technology in the last year.
Investments in the field of information technology have resulted in more and better use of these IT services in Panama, which has improved its overall position in the use of technology, according to the Information Technology 2014 report, prepared by the World Economic Forum World.
The Mexican government is considering constructing a pipeline and eventually a refinery to supply the region.
Miguel Hakim, Mexican Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, said his country is considering building a refinery and natural gas pipeline which would cross the isthmus and would be an alternative option for generating power at low cost. Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), has $2 billion to invest.
Corruption, insecurity and political instability are the main factors preventing the country from making progress.
This was revealed by the competitiveness ranking report prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF), in which the country fell three places ranking 111 out of the 148 countries evaluated.
"... Honduras seems held back in the 12 indicators assessed by the institution, but some factors stand out such as ease of financing, bank stability, trade openness, technology transfer and a high rate of school enrollment at primary level," noted an article in Laprensa. hn.
In terms of how modern the infrastructure for air transport is, Panama leads the field, followed distantly by Costa Rica.
"None of the airports in Central America comes close to knocking Tocumen off its number one position in the ranking by Skytrax, nor the ranking by the World Economic Forum. The latter measures the quality of infrastructure for air travel in the country , where Panama climbed from 38th place in 2007 to last year reach the prestigious position of sixth place," reported Elsalvador.com.
Over the next 10 years Latin America should invest 4% of its Gross Domestic Product in infrastructure.
Norman Anderson, president of CG/LA, the consulting company behind the Latin American Leadership Forum, remarked that investing in “good projects” is crucial for Latin America to have a greater weight in the global economy.
The region’s 50 largest infrastructure projects will be showcased at this forum, in which over 500 executives from engineering and technology firms and authorities will participate. They will analyze the business opportunities created by these 50 projects, which could require around $76 billion in investment.
Among Central American countries, Honduras won the best score and Panama got the worst in the ranking by the World Economic Forum.
The 2009 annual ranking by the World Economic Forum evaluates the quality of the ground transportation networks of 133 countries. Among them, Honduras placed 64th, followed by Costa Rica in the 79th place on the list. Guatemala and El Salvador came in the 105th and 118th spots, respectively.
New report identifies hard landing for China, collapse in asset prices, gaps in global governance and climate change as key risks ahead
Sheana Tambourgi, Director and Head of the Global Risk Network at the World Economic Forum, said: “Global Risks 2009 builds on the work of previous years and highlights the need for concerted action to mitigate risks that now more than ever are global in their nature and in their impact, as illustrated by the financial crisis. But the same is true for other risk areas; global risks require a multistakeholder response and cannot be appropriately tackled in isolation.”
In Central America, Panama is first at 58, Costa Rica 59, El Salvador 79, Honduras 82, Guatemala 84 y Nicaragua 120.
The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries covered by the report.
Nicaragua is number 67 in the ranking of the Global Index of Places to do Business, which is prepared by the World Economic Forum.
It's in last place among Central American countries, but it has improved considerably from previous years, when it was ranked number 111.
The ranking measures factors like policies and services that facilitate the receiving of goods across the frontier.
Latin America's main problem is that information technology growth has stalled, according to a report in La Prensa of Honduras.
A new ranking from the World Economic Forum shows that Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and most other Latin American countries are losing ground to countries from the Middle East, Asia and Europe in terms of connecting to the Internet.
Latin American leaders vowed to boost trade and investment in the region to withstand a sharp economic downturn in the United States.
«We have to learn to turn on our own motors,» Mexican President Felipe Calderon told the closing session of the two-day World Economic Forum on Latin America in Cancun.
The presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, and the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, also attended the two-day forum _ a spin-off of the yearly meeting in Davos, Switzerland.