BUSINESS & ECONOMICS |
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS |
Monday, November 27, 2000 Online Edition 48 |
Counterfeit
dollars, lempiras circulating A
warning was issued on Monday by money exchangers located on the Pedestrian
Walkway in downtown Tegucigalpa that counterfeit US$100 and Lps. 500 bills
are circulating. Apparently the
persons selling the fake dollars offer them to clients for less than the
going rate and in the case of the fake lempiras they offer to buy dollars
for more than the going price. - La
Tribuna Rules
for oil exploration bidding ready The
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment announced this week that the
ground rules for bidding on oil exploration concessions are ready and only
need to meet presidential and Congressional approval to begin.
If the rules are approved, bidding will take place early next year
and concessions will be granted to the winners. The
Ministry stated that so far companies from the United States, Canada and
Mexico have shown interest in participating in the bidding process. -
El Tiempo Economy
needs to grow 7% to solve social woes In
a recent meeting held with the private sector in Tegucigalpa, Inter American
Development Bank President Enrique Iglesias said the Honduran economy needs
to grow at a rate of approximately 7 percent a year for the country to solve
its social problems. Iglesias
added that the most important factor in developing the country is offering
its citizen the best education possible so as to enable them to break free
from the vicious cycle of poverty, and that Central American countries are
not investing enough in education. He
also said special support should be provided for microenterprise and that
the country should take advantage of the opportunities the maquila sector is
providing as a pioneer for the rest of the region.
Iglesias said foreign debt is a an important issue to faced but that
it is not an obstacle to the economy's development. -
El Tiempo |
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Monday, November 20, 2000 Online Edition 47 |
No more permits for financieras Gonzalo Carías,
the president of the Banking and Insurance Commission, announced last week
that several financial lending institutions will soon be closed or merge
since only 13 are operating legally. He
added, "No more permits will be extended for new lending companies and
only 13 are authorized to operate."
Carías also speculated that several of these may also close due to
competition from banks that have lowered interest rates. –
El Heraldo
Pharmaceutical sector crisis The Association
of Pharmaceutical Producers, Distributors and Stores on Monday requested the
intervention of Honduran Private Enterprize Corporation (COHEP) to stop
legislation the National Congress is currently studying that would impose a
Lps. 20,000 monthly minimum salary for pharmaceutical professionals, reduce
store hours and provide 100 percent severance payment in all cases of fired
employees. The association
contends that if the bill is approved many businesses would go bankrupt. – El Heraldo
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Monday, November 13, 2000 Online Edition 46 |
World Bank approves US$66.5M for Honduras The World Bank
approved on Tuesday a US$66.5 million credit for Honduras for continuing
reconstruction projects, as well as for rebuilding roads and bridges washed
out during Hurricane Mitch two years ago.
The 40-year loan has a 10-year grace period and will be managed by
the Asociacion Internacional de Fomento. -
El Heraldo Lempira has devaluated 58 cents this year According to
the Central Bank the Honduran, the lempira has devaluated 58 cents to the
U.S. dollar this year and could continue downhill since the government has
not received the amount of foreign exchange previously expected. -
El Tiempo Monthly per capita income Lps. 1,082 According to a
recent Central Bank of Honduras survey conducted of 1,152,436 households,
Lps. 1,082 is the average monthly Honduran per capita income. The study
revealed that in urban areas most households averaged Lps. 1,615, 1.5
percent higher than the national average, while in rural areas the average
monthly income reaches a mere Lps. 607, 43.9 percent below the national
average. The study also
showed that people living in urban areas, or 47.1 percent of the population,
earn 2.7 times more than rural families or 52.9 percent of the population.
At the same time, residents of San Pedro Sula earn the most, with the
average income being Lps. 2,079. Men were found
to earn 44.3 percent of the income and women 37.9 percent, except in the
cases where a woman is the head of the family. The study also
found that, in relation to educational levels, men with no schooling earned
between Lps. 559 and Lps. 830 a month, less than the national average. The financial
sector pays the most with a Lps. 2,749 monthly average, followed by the
transportation, warehouses and communications sector at Lps. 2,748; and the
business, restaurant and hotel sector at Lps. 1,198, with the lowest being
the agricultural sector at Lps. 655 a month. -
El Heraldo
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