Press announcement

Bloomberg Hosts First LatAm Forum with Regional Presidents

September 23, 2014

Bloomberg held its first Latin America Forum with Michael R. Bloomberg welcoming the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru to the company’s headquarters to discuss what lies ahead for the Pacific Alliance. The group, LatAm’s biggest trade block, represents a $2.2 trillion economic powerhouse with 214 million people.

Bloomberg mentioned that the Forum was historic, since it was the first time since the Alliance was created that the presidents of all four countries have participated together in an event organized by a private company.

The Forum’s goal was to bring the presidents together to discuss their challenges and opportunities with an audience of top-level investors and C-suite executives, who could make a major difference in their countries. In all, 390 people attended, including 100 hand-selected clients and 169 government officials, delegates and staff including the countries’ ambassadors, ministers of commerce, environment, finance, foreign affairs, human rights, and tourism.

Nearly 100 members of the press covered the Forum including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Reuters, the Associated Press and the Presidents’ press corps with major media from each country, resulting in more than 167 stories published. Bloomberg News, Radio and Television provided extensive coverage.

Bloomberg opened the Forum by recognizing the growth in Latin America and its investments in financial technology systems. The electronic trading in markets is essential to being competitive in the global market, he said, and helps make markets more transparent, which increases liquidity and attracts more investment, so Wall Street and Main Streets all around the world benefit.

Bloomberg News’ Matthew Winkler and Adriana Arai led the discussion with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Peruvian President Ollanta Humala. The discussion was 90-minutes long and covered the nations’ economies, health, welfare and government policies.

Reaction to the Forum has been overwhelmingly positive from the Presidents, their delegations and clients. Business and Financial executives who attended said they learned much more about the countries, made some solid connections and intend to expand business in Latin America.

Contributed by Jose Enrique Arrioja, Bloomberg News

Read the first opinion-editorial by the Presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico & Peru

See the Bloomberg TV interviews with the Pacific Alliance Presidents

Listen to Bloomberg Radio’s interview with President Santos

Watch the full Latin America Forum program

Read the transcript of the Latin America Forum

Read BloombergBRIEF newsletter on Latin America

Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile:

Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia:

Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico:

Ollanta Humala, President of Peru:

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