ASiAn invASion wElcomEd - ProMéxico

Report Mexico-China, Intense Cultural Exchange
The Asian
Issue
Asian
invasion
welcomed j
Mexico has become an important
destination for Asian investments
vii- 2009
When
Producing
Costs Less
Global Technology
Mexico’s Valuable Market
Solar Energy
Luminous Alternative

2 Negocios
Firms
6
More of Mexico in Asia
More of Asia in Mexico
By Bruno Ferrari
22
Asian
Invasion
welcomed
Over the last ten years,
Mexico has become an
important destination for
Asian investments. Asian
companies have found in
the country a profitable and
advantageous spot for their
global expansion plans
Contents
10 Briefs
16 Report : APEC
32 Mexico-Japan
40 Figures
8 Business tips: when producing costs less
Hutchison
port
holdings
Strengthens its relationship
with Mexico
18
Solar
Energy
Luminous Alternative
26
14
Global
Technology
Lenovo focusing
heavily on
Mexico and its
valuable market

offices abroad
ProMéxico Headquarters
+ 52 (55) 544 77070
promexico@promexico.gob.mx
www.promexico.gob.mx
Singapore Regional Director
salomon.sacal@promexico.gob.mx
Offices: Mumbai, Singapore,
Sydney, Taipei
Mumbai
aldo.ruiz@promexico.gob.mx
Singapore
francisco.bautista@promexico.gob.mx
America
Sao Paulo Regional Director
pedro.pinson@promexico.gob.mx
Offices: Buenos Aires, Bogota, Guatemala,
Santiago, Sao Paulo
Buenos Aires
hector.zires@promexico.gob.mx
Bogota
carlos.edgar@promexico.gob.mx
Guatemala
ignacio.elias@promexico.gob.mx
Santiago
emilio.lopez@promexico.gob.mx
Sao Paulo
juan.pintoribeiro@promexico.gob.mx
Houston Regional Director
carlos.marron@promexico.gob.mx
Offices: Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Vancouver
Dallas
diana.castaneda@promexico.gob.mx
Houston
luis.peralta@promexico.gob.mx
Los Angeles
mario.juarez@promexico.gob.mx
San Francisco
ricardo.vargas@promexico.gob.mx
Vancouver
carlos.cacho@promexico.gob.mx
New York Regional Director
gerardo.patino@promexico.gob.mx
Offices: Chicago, Miami, Montreal,
New York
Chicago
miguel.leaman@promexico.gob.mx
Miami
gabriel.perez@promexico.gob.mx
Montreal
alfonso.mojica@promexico.gob.mx
New York
edmundo.gonzalez@promexico.gob.mx
Asia
Shanghai Regional Director
juan.cante@promexico.gob.mx
Offices: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai,
Seoul, Tokyo
Beijing
ari.saks@promexico.gob.mx
Hong Kong
horacio.reyes@promexico.gob.mx
Shanghai
luis.vieyra@promexico.gob.mx
Seoul
jose.peral@promexico.gob.mx
Tokyo
esau.garza@promexico.gob.mx
Sydney
milko.rivera@promexico.gob.mx
Taipei
enrique.rosell@promexico.gob.mx
Europe
London Regional Director
antonio.prida@promexico.gob.mx
Offices: Brussels, London, Madrid,
Milan, Paris
Brussels
alejandro.saldivar @promexico.gob.mx
London
alexandra.haas@promexico.gob.mx
Madrid
luis.ampudia@promexico.gob.mx
Milan
claudia.esteves@promexico.gob.mx
Paris
dolores.beistegui@promexico.gob.mx
Frankfurt Regional Director
francisco.gonzalez@promexico.gob.mx
Offices: Dubai, Frankfurt, Moscow,
Stockholm, Switzerland
Dubai
jose.neif@promexico.gob.mx
Frankfurt
cesar.fragozo@promexico.gob.mx
Moscow
leonor.pintado@promexico.gob.mx
Stockholm
nicole.felix@promexico.gob.mx
Switzerland
patricia.moreno@promexico.gob.mx

4 Negocios
Interview
Bernardo
de Niz
A Mexican Photojournalist
in China
Directory
ProMéxico
Bruno Ferrari
CEO
Ricardo Rojo
Image and Communications Director
Sebastián Escalante
Managing Coordinator
sebastian.escalante@promexico.gob.mx
Miguel Ángel Samayoa
Advertising and Suscriptions
negocios@promexico.gob.mx
Copy Editing
Gabriela Mejan Ganem
taller méxico
Alejandro Serratos
Publisher
a.serratos@tallermexico.com
42
The lifestyle Contents
Emmilú López Valtierra
General Manager
emmilu@tallermexico.com
Felipe Zúñiga
Copy Editing
felipe@tallermexico.com
Jorge Silva
Design Director
jorge@tallermexico.com
52 The Lifestyle Briefs
60 Report
Unam
Awarded for
its influence in
Ibero-America
Art
Dr. lakra
The Tattoo of
Contemporary Art
56
58 Report
Mexico and china
Intense Cultural
Exchange
62 Feedback
Commited
to health
Instituto Carso
de la Salud
Ma. Elena López
Design
m.lopez@tallermexico.com
Juan Pablo R. Valadez
Design
juanpablo@tallermexico.com
Pilar Jiménez Molgado
Design
pilar@tallermexico.com
Piso de ediciones
Vanesa Robles
Senior Writer
vanesarobles@gmail.com
Karla Juárez
Sandra Roblagui
Lucila Valtierra
Mauricio Zabalgoitia
Staff Writers
Proof Reading
And Translation
Lozano Translations
contributors
Jennifer Chan, Graeme Stewart, Alejandra
Atilano, Karla Bañuelos Saenz, Oldemar.
ProMéxico is not responsible for inaccurate information or omissions that might exist in the information provided by the participant companies nor of
their economic solvency. Title certificate of lawfulness 008404. Text certificate of lawfulness 5017. Number of Title Reserve 04-2005-11292235400-102.
Postal Registry PP09-0044. Responsible editor: Sebastián Escalante. Printing: Cía Impresora El Universal, S.A. de C.V. Distribution: ProMéxico Camino a
Sta Teresa 1679, México D.F., 01900. Phone: +52 (55) 5447 7000. Negocios is an open space where diverse opinions can be expressed. The institution
might or might not agree with an author’s statements; therefore the responsibility of each text falls on the writers, not on the institution, except when it
states otherwise. Although this magazine verifies all the information printed on its pages, it will not accept responsability derived from any omissions,
inaccuracies or mistakes. July, 2009.
This is an editorial project for ProMéxico
by Taller México & Piso de Ediciones.
Download the PDF version of Negocios
from www.promexico.gob.mx

6 Negocios
From the CEO.
More of Mexico in Asia, More of asia in Mexico
Mexico and Asia speak the same language: business. The
relationships between Mexico and Asia’s main economies
are overcoming their biases so they can become stronger
in the land of business. What many would consider
insurmountable differences are in reality reasons for
success. These include ways of doing business that complement one another and
cultural traditions that enrich each other and are surprising more for their similarities
than their differences.
Trade between Mexico and the Asian continent is growing; what one produces the
other needs. The presence of Mexican brands and products in Asian markets is
growing rapidly. At the same time, the number of facilities importing raw materials
from Asia for production in different industries like electronics and information
technologies continues to increase.
On the other side of the Pacific, companies looking to expand and gain territory in
North and Latin American markets have a strategic ally in Mexico.
With competitive production costs, “just in time” access to the United States and Latin
America’s main economies, constantly growing modern infrastructure, a warehouse
base well-established in most of the high value sectors and a political openness that
has translated into the progressive reduction of international trade barriers, Mexico is
shaping to be the best partner on the global economic stage.
The relationship between Asia and Mexico is one that still has much to give, one where
there are many opportunities yet to explore. Negocios dedicates this issue to different
aspects of this relationship, with the certainty that in the short term, the world will be
able to see more of Mexico in Asia and more of Asia in Mexico.
Welcome to Mexico!
Bruno Ferrari
ProMéxico CEO

8 Negocios
When Producing
Costs Less
Mexico is becoming one of the main destinations for international companies
looking to relocate their production and expand globally. recent studies by
firms such as bcg and alixpartners have concluded that the country has the
lowest and most profitable production costs of any country in the world.
There is something in Mexico that
is calling the attention of investors from
around the world. In the last five years,
the country has become one of the main
destinations for production-related investment,
particularly from transnational
companies that see in it a key piece of
their international expansion strategy.
The reasons are many. They include:
infrastructure and logistics capacity in all
sectors; a large labor market that is mostly
young and highly qualified; a favorable
business environment due to a stable
economy and political system. But the list
continues: the country’s geographic location;
its large network of treaties and economic
agreements that on one hand favor
free trade with the world’s main markets
and on the other provide legal certainty
to investment.
In 2008, a report by Boston Consulting
Group (BCG, www.bcg.com) predicted
such things as Mexico’s geographic location,
logistics capacity and competitive
labor market would make the country a
strategic option for companies with international
expansion plans, particularly
those interested in entering the North
American market.
In the report, titled “Mexico’s Evolving
Sweet Spot in the Globalization Landscape,”
BCG said Mexico is a unique and
advantageous point for companies whose
production processes have one of the fol-
lowing characteristics: significantly high
logistics costs; strict responsibility requirements;
high administrative involvement;
and specialized work force as a
fundamental component of its process.
Change in Manufacturing
Cost Ranking
2005 Cost Ranking
-China-
-India-
-Mexico-
-Brazil-
-United States-
End of 2008 Ranking
-Mexico-
-India-
-China-
-United States-
-Brazil-
Source: AlixPartners 2009
Manufacturing-Outsourcing Cost Index
The report estimates that if, for example,
a company dedicated to the production
of refrigerators (products with
high logistics costs) established itself in an
Asian country with low costs and tried to
sell its product in the US market for 500
usd each, it would have to include 100 usd
in shipping costs in the list price. This
would be 20% of the total value of each
unit. Sending them from Mexico would
cost less than half that amount.
“To illustrate the magnitude of differences
in shipping costs, we will compare
freight costs to transport a container to
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From Mexico
City it’s 2,679 usd; from Sao Paulo, Brazil,
it’s 4,637 usd; and from Shanghai, China,
it’s 5,437 usd (These figures represent
estimates of total costs of going door to
door, based on transportation over land
and sea, according to MaritimeChain.
com),” the report said.
Another logistical aspect is response
time. The ability to offer “just-in-time”
transportation is a very important factor
for many companies and their suppliers.
The time it takes to send products coming
from the eastern coast of China to the
interior of the United States is on average
from three to four weeks through the US
West Coast and four to six weeks through
the East Coast. In contrast, the time for
products coming from Mexico is less than
a week. This is thanks to the country
sharing close to 4,000 kilometers of border
with the United States.
Another factor that makes Mexico a
strategic point is the labor component.
According to the International Labour
Organization and the Economist Intel-

usiness tips
ligence Unit (EIU), the hourly rate for
manufacturing workers was estimated to
be 3.46 usd in Mexico and 25.51 usd in the
United States. In some areas of Mexico,
labor costs can be 16 times cheaper than
the United States.
And what if the production process requires
strong administrative involvement
Mexico also has viable solutions. When
the hourly rate becomes a critical factor,
you have to take into account that the difference
in hourly rates between Mexico
and the main cities in the United States
is minimal. For example, it is only one
hour of difference with New York and two
hours with Los Angeles. When administrative
involvement is required in the comprehensive
process, the availability of local
talent can be an important factor. Mexico
has a large sector of managers, most educated
and trained in the United States,
able to speak English and accustomed to
the American way of doing business.
A recent study by AlixPartners (www.
alixpartners.com), a leading business
consulting firm, has identified Mexico
as the country with the best production
costs, followed by India and China.
In the Manufacturing-Outsourcing
Cost Index 2009, AlixPartners analyzed
production costs of different manufacturing
and assembly components in China,
India, Brazil and Mexico and compared
them with what it would cost to make the
same products in the United States. Also,
the study reviewed seven key production
cost factors in each country during the
last three years: exchange rates; labor
costs; transportation costs; cost of raw
materials; inventory costs; equipment
costs; and financial obligations.
The results are convincing: Mexico is
the new number one while China, which
at one time was the country with the lowest
production costs, came in behind India.
The study concluded that even if China’s
position could improve by the end of
2009, it still would not surpass Mexico.
With the clear advantages Mexico offers
for business development, we need to
add one more: the exchange rate between
the peso and dollar. Recent movements
in exchange rates have placed Mexico in
a competitive position: producing goods
in pesos results in a profitable business
when it’s about selling in dollars.
The exchange rate in countries like
China is undervalued, which creates an
artificial difference in relative costs compared
to Mexico. Once the yuan is free
floating (like the Mexican peso), labor,
logistic and transportation costs in China
will be bigger in terms of dollars.
Mexico maintains itself as a competitive
destination. Leading business consulting
SEVEN KEY COST DRIVERS
MODELED FOR EACH TYPE OF PART AND COUNTRY
(ADJUSTED ANNUALLY)
RAW MATERIALS
ASSUMED MATERIAL WAS SOURCED LOCALLY
AT GLOBAL COMMODITY PRICES
LABOR (HOURLY AND SALARIED)
DIFFERENCES IN AVERAGE WAGES, BENEFITS
AND PRODUCTIVITY
OVERHEAD
RELATIVE COST OF ENERGY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, TAXES,
OTHER SERVICES LIKE INSURANCE AND A TYPICAL PROFIT
MARGIN FOR THE SUPPLIER
EXCHANGE RATE
VARIATION IN EXCHANGE RATE APPLIED TO TOTAL PRODUCTION
COST (CAPPED AT 10% ON MATERIAL)
FREIGHT
TYPICAL COST FROM EACH COUNTRY TO THE US PORT,
INCLUDING AN ESTIMATE OF INLAND FREIGHT AT
THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
DUTIES
US IMPORT DUTIES FOR THE TYPE OF PART
WHERE APPLICABLE.
INVENTORY
ASSUMED 45-DAY INCREMENTAL IN-TRANSIT
INVENTORY FOR INTERCONTINENTAL
(INLAND TRANSPIRATION,
OCEAN FREIGHT,CUSTOMS, ETC.)
AND SEVEN DAYS FOR MEXICO
SOURCE: ALIXPARTNERS 2009
MANUFACTURING-OUTSOURCING COST INDEX
firms are pointing this out and different international
companies from all sectors are
taking advantage of what the country has
to offer. In the last few months, companies
from around the world have announced
the transfer of their manufacturing operations
to Mexico.
What’s the lesson from all this Businesses
that are looking for new production
locations so they can enter the North
and Latin American markets should seriously
consider Mexico. n

Photos courtesy of electrolux/pf changs/archive
Agricultural business
Juicy
Exports
Exports of Mexican orange juice to the United
States can increase between 25% and 40% in
the next few years now that 70,00 hectares of
fruit trees in that country have been infected
by the Huanglongbing bacteria (HLB), commonly
known as yellow dragon disease.
Ahead of new demand for this citrus juice,
the construction of eight silos in Altamira,
Tamaulipas, and Tuxpan, Veracruz, will be
expedited so this product can be exported by
boat directly to Miami. Construction will take
a year and will cost 28 million usd.
According to figures from the Mexican Citrus
Council, exports from Mexico of this product
broke records in 2008 with 1 million tons
of concentrated orange juice and 400,000 tons
of Persian limes. The United States is the main
market for Mexican orange juice, while fresh
oranges are sold more in South America.
investment
Electrolux
Relocates
Home appliance company Electrolux will relocate
part of its production of washers and dryers
to Mexico. Up to now, production of these household
goods was located in Webster City, Iowa. But
it will now be moved to the company’s manufacturing
plants in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
The company employs 57,000 workers in
different countries and in 2007 it recorded
sales of 16 billion usd.
www.mexbest.com
www.electrolux.com
Franchise
Chinese
Take Away
Alsea, Latin America’s leading operator of
fast food restaurants, has signed an agreement
with the P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
chain to open 30 locations in Mexico.
Alberto Torrado, Alsea’s general director
and president of its administrative board,
said in a press release this “development will
capture a market opportunity in Mexico’s
casual dining category.”
The first restaurants will open in the last
quarter of 2009, with the rest opening within
10 years. P.F. Chang’s runs 190 restaurants in
the United States and it’s recognized as one of
the best brands of casual dining restaurants
in the country.
www.pfchangs.com

dairy
Lala, increasing
its presence
in the US
briefs.
Grupo Industrial Lala has a new member.
The Mexican firm has bought the milk processing
company National Dairy, part of
the US dairy cooperative Dairy Farmers of
America, for 435 million usd.
Lala in Mexico
- 20,000 workers -
- 22 dairy processing plants -
- 150 distribution centers -
- More than 5,000 delivery routes -
Based in Dallas, Texas, National Dairy is
one of the United States’ biggest milk processing
companies. This new acquisition gives the
Mexican group an important place in the US
dairy market, which it first entered four years
ago with the sale of milk and yogurt.
Lala was founded in 1949 in La Laguna, Coahuila,
in northern Mexico, and today it is one
of the world’s biggest producers of milk, butter,
yogurt, cheese and other dairy products.
www.lala.com.mx
Photo archive
Photo courtesy of mission Economic Development Authority
Communications
Transborder
modernity
Mexico and the United States will soon have
a new connection: the Anzalduas International
Bridge, which will join the cities of
Mission and McAllen in Texas with Reynosa,
in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It’s anticipated
the bridge, the most modern to
connect the two nations, will be finished by
October 2009. It will speed up the exchange
of commerce and make it easier for people
to cross between the two countries.
www.elmananarey.com

12 Negocios Photos courtesy of nestlé/pemex/wahl/archive
Logistics center
Nestlé
Expansion
Nestlé will grow to three times its size in
Lagos de Moreno, in the state of Jalisco.
The company has invested 22 million usd
to expand its logistics center, which will
now have 114 loading doors to speed up
product distribution and modernize its
storage of food products for a better production
management. Nestlé’s current facilities
measure 30,000 meters and with
the investment, they will grow to nearly
80,000. The company produces the Nido,
Svelty and Media Crema brands in Lagos
de Moreno.
www.nestle.com.mx
mining
A country
worth
gold
Mexico’s future is golden. In 2008, the country’s
gold production reached a historic high:
49.6 tons (nearly 1.6 million ounces), 13.6%
more than in 2007.
From October 28 to October 31,
the 28th International Mining
Convention will take place at the
World Trade Center in Mexico City.
National gold production represented 16%
of the country’s total mining-metallurgical
production and according to a report by the
Mexico Mining Chamber, it could reach 70
tons in 2009.
Currently, Mexico is the 13th biggest producer
of gold, but projections assert that it
will grow in the next few years and it could
one day be among the five biggest producers
in the world.
www.camimex.org.mx

iefs.
Construction
Pemex to have
a new cryogenic
plant
Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex, Mexico’s stateowned
petroleum company) has awarded
a 270 million usd contract to the company
ICA for the construction of a cryogenic plant
with a daily processing capacity of 200 million
cubic feet.
In association with Linde Process Plants
Inc., the construction firm will begin building
the plant in August, inside the Poza Rica
Gas Processing Complex, in Veracruz.
www.pemex.com
investment
Heinz’s
New
Plant
stock market
Double V
Holding
Buys Shares
of PASA
products
wahl,
ahead
in sales
Heinz is increasing its presence in Mexico
with the opening of its new baby food plant
in the state of Jalisco, in the western region
of the country.
At the table
- 158 million usd investment -
- 1,000 direct and indirect jobs
at the new plant -
Besides making products for babies, the
food company will also strengthen agricultural
supplies and services. According to
Heinz, 80% of its production will be exported
to Central and South America.
Heinz chose Jalisco for its qualified work
force, suitable infrastructure and stable
economy.
Promotora Ambiental (PASA), a Mexican
company that collects and disposes of waste,
has signed an agreement to sell Double V
Holding 75% of its shares in subsidiary Promotora
Ambiental del Sureste for 10 million
usd. The subsidiary is one of the main providers
of waste management services for oil
giant PEMEX.
The hair cutting
market has
resulted in good
business for Wahl
in Mexico. The country
represents 30% of the
company’s sales. According to
figures published in the newspaper
El Financiero, the US company
–which specializes in hair
cutting products– estimates growth
of 16% in the country during 2009.
In 2008, Wahl positioned itself as a
sales leader in this sector in Mexico. It sold
more than 50,000 hair cutters to consumers,
a figure that is equal to around 2 million
usd based on the manufacturing price.
www.heinz.com
www.gen.tv
www.wahl-store.com

14 Negocios photos courtesy of lenovo
Global
Technology
Legend Holdings’ merger with IBM
has turned the Chinese company
into Lenovo, a technology firm that
is betting on “worldsourcing” and
focusing heavily on Mexico and its
valuable market.
By Jennifer Chan
Faithful to the motto that energy only renews
itself, Lenovo is in reality the new face
of Legend Holdings, a Chinese company that
15 years after its creation decided to internationalize
itself.
Legend was looking to buy a Western
company to complement its value, given that
up to that point it was only doing business in
China. It was then when it merged with the
personal computer division of IBM.
Combining the best of the East and West,
Lenovo (the name comes from New Legend)
was born in 2005. It had global vision and
policies to create a leading computer company
with a strong presence in markets developed
from emerging areas.
The company is dedicated to the development,
manufacture, and worldwide distribution
of technology products and services, with
its main focus on personal computer products.
This includes desktop and laptop computers
for use in both businesses and at home.
Its star products, from the Think family,
(including the ThinkPad laptops and its associated
line of products ThinkCentre, ThinkStation,
ThinkServer, IdeaPad and IdeaCentre)
have been recognized around the world. They
were included on PC World’s list of the 10 best
laptops and have been considered as “the most
innovate products” in two consecutive editions
of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
A small world
Lenovo is a good example of worldsourcing.
The company does not have a central
location and it counts on a distributed management
structure, with operation centers
around the world. It has operation centers in
Beijing, China; Raleigh, North Carolina in the
United States; Singapore; and Paris, France.
It also has a marketing center in Bangalore,
India and research centers in Yamato, Japan;
Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and
Raleigh, North Carolina. It employs 23,000
people worldwide, 1,700 of whom are designers,
researchers and engineers.
Lenovo and Mexico
Since its start, Lenovo has been in Mexico.
The liaison began with a sales office made up
mainly of former employees of the PC company.
Some time later, Lenovo decided to invest
in a manufacturing plant in Monterrey, in the
northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, that
began operating in 2009. That date marked
the start of a manufacturing and exporting
relationship between Lenovo and Mexico.
Why Mexico It’s very simple. “Because of
its geographic location, its free trade agreements
and the country’s knowledge of foreign trade,”
said Enrique Fernández, general director of
Lenovo in Mexico.
“Nuevo León’s state government gave
us many facilities so we could invest in the
plaza. Monterrey is strategically located so
it can serve both the Mexican and North
American markets. It also has extraordinary

mexico’s partner lenovo
lines of communication and is a great source
of qualified workers,” he said.
Besides its easy access to North and Latin
American markets, Mexico was chosen for
another very important reason. The Mexican
market is –after Brazil– the biggest in
Latin America for the personal computer
industry.
With an investment of 40 million usd,
Lenovo’s plant in Monterrey is the company’s
first manufacturing center on the American
continent. It is located in a building that measures
24,155 square meters and sits on an area
that stretches over 6 hectares –leaving open
the possibility for future expansion. The facility
produces desktop computers, workstations,
laptop computers and servers.
The plant has an annual production capacity
of 5 million units. Its activities include the
manufacture and configuration of products,
distribution with added value and customer
service. It directly employs 1,450 people and
is responsible for indirectly employing about
another 1,000 from the region.
A question of strategy
At first, Lenovo Mexico’s most important
clients were large global companies and government
institutions. In the last few years,
the company has aimed to broaden its market.
“We are looking closely at medium and
small companies that most of the time get
their products from traditional distributors
or from retail stores...And one of our biggest
goals is to reach the consumer market, specifically
the home sector,” Fernández said.
But one of the peculiarities of the Mexican
market is that many companies like to buy
their products from retail stores where customers
typically buy things for their homes:
price clubs or office supply stores. Another
distinctive characteristic of the national market
is its preference for quality brands. Mexicans
like buying brand name products.
“The Mexican citizen looks for the best
product –the brand name product– that he
or she can afford to buy. It’s a characteristic
trait that cannot be found with such intensity
in any other Latin American market,”
Fernández said.
Facing the crisis
Lenovo is dealing with the current financial
crisis thanks to a worldwide restructuring,
which is expected to help the company save
up to 300 million usd during this fiscal year.
In Mexico –where it values its pragmatic
and frugal way of doing business– the company
has focused on keeping all of its employees
while it looks to efficiently capitalize on the opportunities
the national market offers.
“Our offer has contributed to the reduction
of costs, not only in the price of acquisitions but
also in the operation of equipment,” Fernández
said. “Our way of buying machinery, our use
of energy and heat generation and conservation
is the most competitive in the market. In
the long run, it reduces operation costs.” The
company’s directive affirms that this has allowed
Lenovo to navigate through the storm,
continue capitalizing on opportunities and has
let it move ahead. On a slow but firm pace, it
continues with the intention of creating a long
lasting brand in Mexico and the rest of the
American continent.
Local and global: a glance to the future
Lenovo’s future is focused on two points:
expansion on a national scale and assisting
individual markets on a global scale.
Lenovo Mexico is looking to build distribution
and value chains through relationships
with consultants, marketing agencies
and software companies. This will allow the
company to reach the entire country and all
segments of the market.
“It’s an expansion project so we can
participate in market segments where we
weren’t before,” Fernández said. “The first
steps are modest but firm. We are sure that
when the economy rebounds, we will be on
the crest of a wave.”
Worldwide, Lenovo has focused on two important
market segments: emerging markets
and developed ones like Canada, the United
States and Europe. Countries like Mexico and
Brazil make up a sui generis group, on horseback
among many types of markets.
“We have a special category and we have
decided to invest in this segment,” Fernández
said. n
Lenovo’s Worldwide Sales
(2008-2009 fiscal year, by region)
China
1.2 billion usd
(43.6% of global sales)
America
682 million usd
(24.6% of global sales)
Europe, Middle East and Africa
591 million usd
(21.3% of global sales)
Asia Pacific (excluding China)
291 million usd
(10.5% of global sales)

16 Negocios illustration oldemar
Mexico and APEC,
A Successful
Business and
Trade Partnership
Business opportunities between Mexico and the Asia-Pacific region keep
growing thanks to the country’s participation in APEC, one of the world’s
leading regional economic forums. This success is due in part to key trade
facilitation developments and technical and economic cooperation.
By Sebastián Escalante
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) was established in Canberra, Australia
on Nov. 7, 1989 with the goal of supporting
greater economic and technical
integration among countries in the Pacific
basin and promoting economic, trade and
investment growth in the region. Since then,
it has been one of the world’s most dynamic
mechanisms for regional cooperation.
To date, 21 groups participate in it –Australia,
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam,
the Philippines, Japan, South Korea,
Russia, Vietnam, the United States, Canada,
Chile, Peru and Mexico. Together they make
up nearly 3 billion people (more than 40% of
the world’s population), 56% of the world’s
Gross Domestic Product and 46% of global
trade. According to 2008 estimates by the
World Bank, it’s anticipated that nearly 70%
of global growth in the next few years will
come from this region.
APEC functions as a mechanism for dialogue
and cooperation. It periodically gathers
heads of state, governmental officials
and representatives from the private sector
to look for agreements on three basic issues:
free trade and investment, facilitation
of businesses and technical and economic
cooperation.
While its resolutions and agreements
aren’t binding, APEC has contributed much
to creating a more dynamic economic bond,
one in which Mexico has been prominent
due to its determined participation.
Mexico and trade
facilitation towards the Pacific
Since the 1994 Bogor Summit in Indonesia,
APEC has moved forward with knocking
down trade barriers between its member
countries. The goal: reducing tariff taxes
among the participating economies to levels
below 5%. This was first to be done with
the region’s more industrialized countries by
2010 and then among the emerging economies
by 2020.
But APEC’s initiatives and proposals
have gone beyond that. Trade facilitation not
only refers to the transportation of products
through borders. It also contemplates the
exchange of services through the Internet,
timely access to financial services, quick and
prompt customs procedures as well as diverse
facilities for the movement of individuals.
Mexico is conscious of this. For the country,
as well as the rest of APEC’s economies,
it’s imperative that barriers that affect the
free movement of people, goods, services and
capital be reduced or eliminated. As a result,
the country has substantially improved its
customs procedures by simplifying processes
and regulations and making substantive
reforms on financial matters, tariffs and infrastructure
among other things.
Mexico successfully presented its second
review of its Individual Action Plan in 2008,
in which it evaluated its advances in relation
to tariffs, non-tariff barriers, services,
investment, customs procedures, intellectual
property, competition, deregulation, rules
of origin and movement of business people,
among other things. The
review concluded Mexico has
made significant advances in accomplishing
the goals set forth in Bogor.
Entrepreneurial
and business mobility
In a world that is becoming more
globalized, trade growth is very
much tied to the mobility of business
people, a key element to closing
negotiations, generating new jobs and
setting investment in place. Such awareness
helped create the APEC Business Travel
Card (ABTC). It gives preferential entrance
and departure to business people who are
citizens of any of the member economies
without the need for a visa or other immigration
paperwork. This card replaces multiple
visas, unifying in one document access
to all of APEC’s economies.
ABTC first began in 1997 within Australia,
South Korea and the Philippines. In 1998,
Chile and Hong Kong adopted the card and
with the participation of Malaysia and New
Zealand in 1999, formal operation of this immigration
access tool began.
Mexico adhered to this mechanism in
2007 and immediately began processing
the nearly 20,000 cards that had been issued
by that time in the rest of the participating
economies. With that, around 20,000
business people and investors from APEC’s
member countries could easily enter Mexico
simply by using ABTC and their passport.
In November 2008, our country created the
first ABTCs for Mexican business people
and investors interested in doing business in
Asia and Oceania.
Currently, 20 countries participate in this
program. Russia is the only APEC economy
that is not taking part while Canada and the
United States maintain certain restrictions

eport apec
connected to the
security of their borders. Each year, requests
for ABTCs have grown. In March 2008,
more than 34,000 cards had been processed
throughout the region, with Australia having
the most (nearly 40% of all ABTCs). According
to the last report published by APEC’s
Business People Mobility Group, 44,931
cards had been generated by July 2008 and
by November of that year 67,259 cards were
validly registered.
In Mexico, the procedures to obtain an
ABTC are done online through the Web site
of the National Immigration Institute www.
inm.gob.mx. It is valid for three years, good
for multiple entrances and allows visits that
under no circumstances can be less than two
months. To facilitate the movement of cardholders,
special lanes have been set up in the
country’s main international ports. Also, a
special security system has been created to
share information about ABTCs, complying
with international security and technology
standards.
More Mexico in Asia and vice versa
Thanks to programs promoted by APEC,
the flow of investment and trade between
Mexico and the main economies of Asia and
Oceania is growing.
There are many examples of success.
In 2007, Cementos Mexicanos (CEMEX)
bought Australian company Rinker for 15.3
billion usd, making the Mexican firm the biggest
cement company in the world. For their
part, Asian companies like Golden Dragon,
the world’s biggest producer of precision
copper tubes; Kyocera; FAW Group; Lenovo;
and Xintian have increased their presence
in Mexico through important investments
in manufacturing plants and distribution
centers.
Also, Asia-Pacific investors today are participating
in projects within diverse industries
of the Mexican economy. In the mining
sector, for example, some projects that stand
out include Baja
Mining (co-investment by
Canada and South Korea); El Arco, from
Grupo Mexico in Baja California, which can
receive Chinese capital; and Arcelor Mittal
Mexico, which supplies iron to China. In the
infrastructure and logistics sector, Hutchison
Port Holdings (HPH) of Hong Kong recently
announced substantial investment for
the creation of facilities for the management
and storage of grain.
In trade relations, the dynamic is similar.
Mexico sells internal combustion motors,
computers and telecommunication equipment
to Australia. To Japan it exports pork
meat; silver; tourism vehicles; fresh and
processed fruit; sugar; coffee; cocoa; spices;
seafood; and cereals. In different countries
within the region it is becoming easier to find
tequila, mezcal and Mexican beer.
Mexico’s presence in APEC has been active
and prosperous. The country is searching
to maximize its bonds with the Asia-Pacific
region on different fronts and the actions it
has undertaken to this moment have contributed
to strengthening its business position
and relationship with the main economies of
the zone. Mexico’s goal is to continue actively
participating in APEC, which, as is being demonstrated,
has translated into unique opportunities
in the business world. n

18 Negocios photo courtesy of ministry of communications and transportation

mexico’s partner hutchison port holdings
Hutchison
Port Holdings
Has Shipped
With projects this year that
include a dry port in the state
of Hidalgo and the construction
of ships for PEMEX (Mexico’s
state-owned petroleum company),
Hutchison Port Holdings
strengthens its relationship
with Mexico.
Chinese by origin and with global operations,
port developer Hutchison Port Holdings
(HPH) has found a good commercial enclave
in Mexico. To date, it has invested 700 million
usd in the country, has six business units and
mobilized just in 2008 nearly 1.5 million TEUs
(twenty-foot equivalent units).
HPH’s history dates back to the end of
the 19th century with the establishment of
the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company,
which offered construction and repair
services for ships for more than a century
before diversifying in cargo and container
management with the creation of Hong Kong
International Terminals (HIT), its spearhead
operation. In 1994, it created HPH to administer
HIT’s growing network of ports.
Today, HPH is a global leader in port investment,
development and operations. Its
interests are spread over 26 countries in
Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Australia
and America. It operates 302 dock positions
in 50 ports around the world as well
as a large number of transportation services
companies. In 2008 alone, HPH managed
more than 67.6 million TEUs around the
world.
HPH in Mexico
Everything started in Veracruz. HPH’s relationship
with Mexico began in August 1995
when the company found in Mexico a good
expansion destination. The country’s geographic
position, with access to the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans, made it a strategic point
for trade. It is the entry door to the United
States and Canada and the bridge to Central
America and the rest of Latin America.
With the possibility it could be sound
competition to other firms in the area and
the backing of the Ministry of Communications
and Transportation and the Federal
Competition Commission (the federal agency
that promotes economic efficiency and
protects competition), HPH began constructing
the International Terminal of Containers
and Partners in the state of Veracruz.
Since then, HPH has invested more than
700 million usd in the country. Today, it has six
business units in strategic points: Ensenada,
Manzanillo, Veracruz, Lázaro Cárdenas and
soon Hidalgo. It employs more than 3,000
Mexicans in these units. The services it offers
in our country include moving containers,
general transportation of cargo, the repair
and storage of containers and the operation
of a cruise ship terminal in Ensenada.
Even though the recent economic crisis
has resulted in a drop in port activity around
the world, HPH continues betting on Mexico,
where it plans to invest more than 212 million
usd this year. For example, it recently
launched a 10 million usd plant in Ensenada
that specializes in the handling and storage
of grain. But that’s not all. In 2009, HPH has
two aces up its sleeve: Veracruz and Hidalgo.
The case of Veracruz
In 2009, one of HPH’s priorities in Mexico
will be investing nearly 7 million usd for the
construction of ships at Talleres Navales del
Golfo (TNG), a ship building and repair yard
in Veracruz.
Cargo movement by HPH in Mexico during 2008
• Veracruz International Container Partners (ICAVE): 566,451 containers
• Manzanillo International Terminal (TIMSA): 254,628 containers
• Lázaro Cárdenas Port Container Terminal (LCT): 524,791 containers
• Ensenada International Terminal (EIT): 110,423 containers

20 Negocios Photos courtesy of ministry of communications and transportation
The idea is to rent supply ships -with the
capacity to transport up to 30,000 barrelsto
Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX, the stateowned
petroleum company). TNG also has
space to repair, convert and construct other
ships.
Hidalgo is next
HPH announced in January 2009 its next
great project on Mexican land. It is literally
on land. It’s the development of a dry port in
Hidalgo, a state with one of the largest borders
in the country.
Over an area of 208 hectares in the region
of Tepeji del Río, the dry port will include
an intermodal cargo terminal and a
logistics park. The project is the result of an
agreement between HPH, the UNNE corporation
and the state government of Hidalgo.
HPH and UNNE have created for themselves
Grupo de Logística Mexicano, a company
that will operate and develop the new facility,
which main services will be to transport
by land and railroad containers from various
commercial ports to other regions of the
country.
Today, HPH has the following business units in the country:
• Ensenada International Terminal (EIT) and
Cruise Ship Terminal, in Baja California
• Manzanillo International Terminal (TIMSA), in Colima
• Veracruz International Container Partners (ICAVE) and
Gulf Naval Yard (TNG), in Veracruz
• Lázaro Cárdenas Port Container Terminal (LCT), in Michoacán
In the words of Gerry Yim, administrative
director of HPH for America, the Middle
East and Africa, “the new terminal will play
a relevant role in the operation of cargo containers
between the main ports of the Pacific
and the Gulf. This will allow it to be part of
the flow of commercial cargo that is spread
from north to south, entering and leaving
Mexico under the benefits of TLCAN.”
Other benefits include improving the
transportation of cargo from Hidalgo to
Mexico City, which will reduce current railway
congestion. This is not counting new
investment and jobs in the region: HPH is investing
120 million usd and it’s calculated the
project will generate close to 10,000 jobs in
the area. The development will also attract
investment from other logistics companies
that will use the terminal as their operations
base.
The project is advancing. Construction
will begin this year and the terminal is expected
to start operating in the first half of
2010. n

mexico’s partner hutchison port holdings

22 Negocios Photo courtesy of nissan mexicana
Asian
invasion
Welcomed
Over the last ten years, Mexico has become an important destination for
Asian investments. Asian companies have found in the country a profitable
and advantageous spot for their global expansion plans.
By Graeme Stewart
If ever two business cultures were made for each
other, it would seem to be those of Mexico and
Asia. Over the past decade, Asian companies
have invested in manufacturing plants in Mexico,
contributing billions of dollars to the Mexican
economy while taking advantage of the available
geographical and tax advantages, not to mention
the highly rated Mexican workforce.
Japanese car manufacturing giant Nissan is
one of those companies established in Mexico
that has found profitability from all the advantages
of outsourcing away from its native shores.
Diego Arrazola, head of communications
at Nissan Mexico, explains why Mexico is a
favorite destination: “México is a country with
important advantages in terms of the quality of
the product and competitiveness in costs, infrastructure
and geographic location. It shares its
border with the United States and has important
ports on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
This enormously facilitates the requirements
of time and embarkation costs not only with
the rest of North America but also with Latin
America and Europe.”
The free trade agreements Mexico has established
with different countries (United States,
Canada, Japan and others) have yielded such
benefits as making products more competitive
abroad because of lower manufacturing costs
compared to other countries. This helps Mexico
to be considered as an excellent export base, allowing
companies to sell vehicles abroad that
were made in another country and not at home.
Such free trade agreements create benefits and
tax incentives in technology, employment creation
and training. Furthermore, the treaties
give preferential tax levels among the participating
countries –in this case, Mexico. This allows
cheaper costs in production, commercialization,
investment opportunities and other benefits.
The parity of the peso to the dollar, which
can introduce an inflation factor into the Mexican
economy, is still attractive abroad as it reduces
production costs for foreign companies
with plants in our country. This cost reduction
is good news for Mexico as it allows these countries
to considerably raise production quotas.
This way, more products can be sold abroad at
competitive costs with bigger profit margins.
On the quality of the Mexican labor pool,
Arrazola said: “The Mexican workforce is acknowledged
to be world class. The products
made in Mexico have an exceptional quality
and surpass the standard levels of other countries.
These qualities make Mexico a reliable,
cheap and profitable production center.”
Nissan Mexico’s plants have competed for
and won new investments and projects due to
their valued and profitable workforce, he said.
Sentra and Tiida cars are an example of that.
Their production is not only for the national
market but also for the export market; the United
States and Canada in the case of Sentra and
Versa; as well as Europe and other countries in
the case of Tiida.
“The Renault–Nissan alliance, created in
1999, offers further examples of the advantages
Mexico has as a manufacturing center,” Arrazola
said. “The antecedent of what we have
accomplished until today is to be found in 2000,
the date when production of the Renault Scenic
in Nissan’s Cuernavaca plant began (the production
of this model stopped in 2004).”
In 2001, production began of the Renault
Clio at the Nissan plant in Aguascalientes and
it continues today. Finally, in 2003 and also at

eport asian invasion

24 Negocios PHOTOs nissan mexicana
Shipment of Tiidas for Europe from
the plant of Nissan in Cuernavaca
the Aguascalientes plant, the first vehicle of
this worldwide alliance was produced: the
Nissan Platina.
“We at Nissan have been delighted with
the success of our plants in Mexico, a country
that has proven itself to be an able partner,”
Arrazola said.
Another Asian company, Sanyo Electric Co.
Ltd, last year disclosed plans to increase production
capacity by nearly 2.5 times of solar modules
at its Mexicoś Factory located in Monterrey.
The increase in production will serve the
rapidly rising demand for solar power in the
North American market. The Mexican plant
currently has an annual production capacity of
20MW for solar module assembly of Sanyo’s
proprietary HIT solar panels. The planned
increase would add up to a total production
capacity of 50MW, more than doubling the
factory’s current capacity.
India-based Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS), a leading IT services, business solutions
and outsourcing firm, has expanded its
operations in Latin America by setting up its
first Global Delivery Center in Guadalajara,
in the state of Jalisco. This is the first major
investment by an Indian information technology
firm in Mexico. The new center represents
an important step in TCS’ global strategy to
further enhance its Global Network Delivery
Model, allowing it to better serve its clients in
Mexico and across the world.
“Apart from a strong domestic IT market,
Mexico shares a similar time zone with and
is within five to six hours flying distance from
anywhere in the US, allowing us the ability to
According to the widely respected Krene Group, there is a growing trend of
Asian companies relocating to Mexico.
“They [Asian companies] initially moved to Mexico to reduce their labor and
operations costs in order to be competitive. The population is predominantly
young with 37.5% being under the age of 15. The advantage this gives to companies
choosing to relocate to Mexico is an abundant labor force. Not only is
the labor factor the impulse to move to Mexico, but also:
provide near shore services for our large US
client community,” said N Chandrasekaran,
executive vice president & head of global sales
& operations for TCS.
Guadalajara, the second largest city in
Mexico with a population of over 4 million,
was chosen by TCS after an extensive survey
because of its accessibility, infrastructure and
available talent pool.
“We are impressed by the tremendous talent
in this region, nurtured by a very strong education
system. We will recruit the best people
and train them extensively in the same high
quality processes and methodologies that we so
successfully use in our operations around the
world,” said Ankur Prakash, general manager
of TCS Mexico.
Over the last seven years TCS has set up operations
in 14 countries across Latin America,
including major centers in Argentina, Brazil,
Chile and Uruguay. They employ over 5,000
professionals in those countries and cater to
more than 150 clients.
“This expansion in Mexico marks an important
phase in our growth. We have hired
500 people for the Mexico center in the short
term and thousands more in the next five
years, as we continue to build a strong high impact
organization in this region,” said Gabriel
Rozman, president of TCS Latin America.
And according to the Mexican Embassy
in Seoul, South Korea, trade between the two
countries had grown so much that South Korea
is now the third largest Asian investor in
Mexico. The Embassy reports: “Manufacturing
and commerce deals between the two countries
have generated almost 808 million usd between
1994 and 2008. That will continue to increase.”
Add inward investment from India and
Singapore amounting to 2.5 billion usd and one
can clearly see that the Asia-Mexico business
sector has been a fabulous success. n
• Competitors and suppliers for industries are following companies to Mexico
and locating in the same area because of the necessity of close proximity
to fit production chain requirements.
• Consumers’ needs are changing very quickly. The United States is such a
large market that a company cannot afford not to be close to its consumers.
For foreigners, this makes Mexico an attractive location versus Asian
countries with similar competitive benefits.
• Mexico serves as the doorway to the rest of Latin America. The consumer
markets in Latin America will exceed those of Europe and Japan by 2010.
Mexico is a logical choice for Asian companies wishing to enter the Latin
American market.”

Asian Invasion Welcomed
THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS MEXICO PARTICIPATES IN ARE:
2005
Mexico and Japan signed an
economic association, which
has substantially increased trade
between the two countries
NAFTA
North American
Free Trade Agreement.
Established in 1994 with the
United States and Canada.
Since its beginning, NAFTA
has been a key factor in increasing
commercial relations between
these countries and has led to the
consolidation of North America
as one of the most dynamic and
integrated regions of the world.
For example, since 1994, 84.5%
of customs duties have been
eliminated for all non-oil and
non-agricultural Mexican exports
to the United States. For Canada,
that figure is 79%
2001
Free trade agreement with the
European Association of Free
Trade, made up of Norway, Iceland,
Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
This treaty has made Mexico the
only Latin American country to
have treaties with all the main
economies of the world
Iceland
Norway
Switzerland/Liechtenstein
The G3
Free Trade Agreement set up
in 1995 between Mexico,
Venezuela and Colombia
Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador
2000
Free trade
agreement
with Israel
Bolivia
Chile
2001
Free trade agreement with
the Northern Triangle of
El Salvador, Guatemala and
Honduras. With this treaty,
Mexico has notably increased
its exports to Central America
and more than half of its
exports to the northern
triangle are tax-free
1995
Free trade agreements
with Costa Rica and
Bolivia
1998
Free trade agreement
with Nicaragua
1999
Free trade agreement
with Chile
2004
Free trade agreement
with Uruguay
2000
Free trade agreement with
the European Union. With
this treaty, the first free trade
area between Europe and
the American continent
was created
infographic oldemar

26 Negocios photo archive
Solar Energy,
Luminous
Alternative
Mexico’s strategic location
has always been key to the
establishment of solar cell
producing companies.
The German company
Q-Cells is opening a plant
in Mexicali with an investment
of 3.5 billion usd, representing
the largest amount of foreign
investment in Mexico’s history.
Also, the Japanese company
Kyocera has opened a plant in
Tijuana with an investment
of 33 million usd.
By Karla Bañuelos
First came fire nearly 500,000 years ago. Water
and windmills appeared in the Middle Age.
Many years later came carbon and other fossil
fuels during the Industrial Revolution. Finally
there was oil. Each one, in their time, has been
the main source of energy in the world. Their
use, however, has eroded the planet’s environmental
balance, due in large part to carbon dioxide
(CO 2
) emissions generated by their combustion.
According to the magazine Science,
CO 2
emissions have reached their highest levels
in history, deriving in ecological problems
like the greenhouse effect, one of the causes of
global warming.
A very effective way to diminish this deterioration
is the use of alternative energies like photovoltaic
–the generation of electricity through
solar energy. The use of this energy source has
grown in the last few years around the world.
Between 1985 and 2008, installed capacity of
solar energy went from 21 megawatts to 5,498
megawatts. To clarify these figures: a megawatt
is equivalent to one million watts.
With an increase in solar energy use, the demand
for photovoltaic or solar cells has grown
by 30% in the last 15 years. The main markets
are Spain (the biggest in 2008), followed by Germany,
Japan and the United States.

article solar energy

28 Negocios photo courtesy of kyocera/q-cells/archive
01
03
05
02 04
06
In Mexico, solar energy has started to win
supporters. The country has some clear advantages:
in most of its territory, solar radiation
levels favor the installation of photovoltaic energy
plants. But not only that, its infrastructure,
proximity to the North American market and
availability of qualified workers make Mexico
attractive to companies that manufacture
products and equipment that generate electricity
through solar energy. In the northern
part of the country, companies that are leading
the research and development of solar energy
technology have found a strategic point for the
expansion of their operations.
Home for the big firms
Due to the growth of the US market, Mexico
has become an important location for manufacturers
of photovoltaic cells.
In mid- 2008, German company Q-Cells
announced it would invest 3.5 billion usd over
the next five years to open a plant in Mexicali,
Baja California (along the US-Mexico border)
to produce photovoltaic cells mainly for the
North American market.
Q-Cells’ investment will create around
4,000 direct jobs and another 4,000 indirect
ones. It will also give the company access to
the growing California area market, like the
Mexicali valley and north of Sonora, where
high temperatures require the use of large
amounts of energy for refrigeration systems
but which also represent potential sources of
solar energy.
Leo van der Holst, vice president of Q-Cells,
explained his company decided to build the
plant –to be the largest of its kind in the world–
in Mexico because its location will permit direct
access not only to the US market but also
to the growing ones in Latin America.
Q-Cells is the world’s most important
manufacturer of solar cells, even supplying
independent units to other manufacturers
in strategic markets. The company also
researches and develops new technologies
with a team of more than 100 technologists,
scientists and engineers. It collaborates with
universities and institutes like the Hahn Meitner
Institute, the Energy Research Centre of
the Netherlands, the Fraunhofer Institute for
Solar Energy Systems, Constanza University
and the Solar Hemeln Research Institute. The
projects being developed are destined to increase
the efficiency of cell performance.
Another solar cell producer that has established
itself in Mexico is the Japanese
company Kyocera. With an investment of 33
million usd, it opened a production plant in
the city of Tijuana in Baja California, creating
600 direct jobs. With this investment, the
company is looking to increase its production
capacity from 35 megawatts to 150 megawatts,
meaning its annual production of solar
panels will go from 175,000 to 750,000.
Kyocera is dedicated to the production of
electronic components and devices and it has
189 distribution companies in Asia, Europe,
Oceania and the Americas. Last year the company’s
sales reached 12.1 billion usd. Since 1975,
Kyocera has created autonomous energy systems
for schools and hospitals and it continues
with its mission of supplying alternative energies
and reducing the use of fossil fuels as part
of its effort to contribute to the planet’s wellbeing.
n

article solar energy
On the previous page
01 inside the Kyocera laboratory.
02 q-cells Balm.
03 President Felipe Calderón at Kyocera.
04 Q-cells is one of the most important
manufacturers of solar cells.
05 the panels that produce the energy
at a Q-Cells facility.
06 The Production plant of the Japenese company
Kyocera in the city of Tijuana, Baja California.
On this page
solar cells A very effective way to diminish
deterioration of ecosystems.
The world of solar cells
Made mostly of silicon, solar panels
have been on the market since the
second half of the 1950s. However,
research on solar energy goes back
to 1839 when French scientist Henri
Becquerel discovered an electric
current could be produced by making
a light shine over certain chemical
substances. Albert Einstein and
Walter Schottky in 1930 and 1950
respectively, continued with this
research and in 1954, researchers
Daryl Chapin, Gerald Pearson and
Calvin Fuller developed a silicon solar
cell that converted 6% of the solar
light that fell upon it into electricity.
Four years later, those cells were used
in orbital satellites.
In the 1980s, the market for solar
cells was limited to being power
supply sources for places difficult to
access and for products like watches,
toys and calculators. It wasn’t until
the mid-1990s that the use of solar
panels for electricity production was
better known, when the construction
of new buildings equipped with this
technology became more frequent. In
the last few years, this alternative form
of energy has received an important
boost. Japan has a program with the
goal of building 70,000 homes that
will be fed by solar energy.
Europe has supported various
parliamentary initiatives for the use
of photovoltaic systems and during
the Bill Clinton presidency, the United
States began a program with the goal
of installing solar panels in 1 million
homes before 2010.

30 Negocios
Intelligent Trade Solutions
Trade between Mexico and Asia has become a secure, fast and cost
competitive process. Thanks to companies like Intertraffic, a Mexican
firm that takes care of everything so that merchandise arrives at its
destination without any problems.
By Alejandra Atilano
Mexico is an important player in international
trade. The country’s large network
of trade agreements, geographic location,
logistics infrastructure and strengthening
as one of the main manufacturing centers
in the Americas have contributed during
the last decade to an exponential increase of
merchandise flow. Imports and exports have
increased as well and with them the need
for specialized services that facilitate companies’
import-export processes, reducing
costs, time and risks.
In 2007, the Mexico City-based Intertraffic
Group (www.intertraffic.com.mx) began
offering different services to make it easier
to export from Asia to Mexico. The idea
came about after its customs services clients
in the Orient faced long processes that were
slow, expensive and insecure.
“What we do is increase the efficiency of
the supply chain, make the import process
much more efficient, reduce costs and time
and guarantee the security and integrity of
merchandise,” said Mario Venegas, president
of Intertraffic.
It was common for some of their clients to
wait at the cargo port, mainly in Manzanillo
in the western state of Colima on the Pacific
coast, for five to six days for a customs agent
to review the containers and make sure they
had the requested merchandise and complied
with import rules and legal regulations.
On more than one occasion, Venegas said,
they would face some unpleasant surprises
CLIENTS
Electronics
Philips, Disney Electronics,
Batman Electronics,
Trane, Audiovox
Technology
Comisión Federal de Electricidad
(Federal Electricity Commission),
Robert Bosch, Waters,
Red Uno
Clothing
Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Coach,
Guess, Gap, Carlo Giovanni
Food
Krispy Kreme, Tetra Pak,
Entelquium, Ameurop
upon opening the containers: the models
weren’t the ones they waited for; they were
mislabeled; or it simply wasn’t the merchandise
that had been bought.
“This would create delays and excessive
storage costs because maintaining merchandise
at the port is expensive,” Venegas said.
“What we wanted to do was save time.”
Sometimes, the problems were more serious.
“We found out that in the cargo ports
they would mark the containers to identify
those that were transporting valuable merchandise
and during the journey those containers
were robbed,” Venegas said.
The most robbed containers had merchandise
easy to move and sell like televisions,
cell phones and clothing. A container
with this type of merchandise is valued at
around 20,000 to 25,000 usd. Venegas said
there were some clients who had one container
robbed for every 100 they imported
with merchandise from Asia, mainly China.
“We had clients that were getting hit hard by
robberies and we began to think about what
solutions we had to stop these problems
with lost time, costs and security.”
Venegas traveled to China to analyze how
to make the entire import process more efficient
and see where it was possible to speed
it up. An analysis of flows, processes and
operations as well as various tests allowed
them to establish a working model that has
produced good results.
The model consists of speeding up the
import process from the port of origin and

article intertraffic
checking the containers before they arrive at
their port of destination. This guarantees the
product arrives as expected and if there is an
error it’s resolved before it is imported.
“We make sure everything corresponds
completely to what the documents say, complies
with all regulations and that we don’t
have to wait at the port to get our merchandise,
a process that could take up to five
days,” Venegas said.
And most important is that the export-import
process is totally secure. After checking
the containers at the port of origin, Intertraffic
closes them “with certain security devices
that guarantee the merchandise will arrive
as it was left, without anybody taking or leaving
anything during the trip,” Venegas said.
When the container arrives in Mexico, it goes
directly to customs, without delays and with
the security the merchandise is complete.
“Robberies have stopped for us,” Venegas
said.
Intertraffic is one of the first Mexican
companies that offers this type of service
and it’s been successful.
“At first it was very difficult. We couldn’t
find a way to make this economically viable
or to have it function on time or coincide
with everything and be simple. We made
several attempts but they weren’t adequate.
Finally, after trial and error, we figured out
how to do it ... Today the percentage of error
is minimum and we haven’t had any incidents
with the authorities,” Venegas said.
If the client asks for it, products can arrive
in Mexico ready to be distributed and sold:
labeled, separated by size or model, with
instructions in Spanish, publicity for promotion
or prices, with everything ready.
The company began in China and has
expanded its operations to India, Singapore,
Vietnam and soon to Europe and America.
In China it has corporate offices in Hong
Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Yiwu. This
year it waits to enter the markets in Russia,
Argentina and Germany, where there are
companies interested in its services.
Currently, it has around 25 clients, with
most of them being auto parts stores, toys
and electronics firms and companies that
sell clothing, shoes, food, chemical products
and construction materials. Its clients in
Mexico are in Monterrey (in Nuevo León);
Chihuahua (northern Mexico); Puebla (in
No surprises
w
Grupo Intertraffic has successfully made more efficient
the importation of products to Mexico.
These are some of the results:
Merchandise isn’t detained at cargo ports. The container
arrives directly at customs.
The export-import process is totally secure. The company has
eliminated the risk of having merchandise robbed during the trip
from the port of origin to the port of destination.
There are clients who have reduced their costs by 20%.
In 2008, it managed 2,000 containers.
the central part of the country); Mérida (in
the southern state of Yucatán); and Guadalajara
(in Jalisco).
Considering the experience it’s gained
during the last two years, Intertraffic has
achieved an important role in Mexican business
relations. The service it offers allows
established Mexican companies to dedicate
themselves to doing business, without worrying
about the transportation and processing
of exports and imports. For that, they
count on the help of an expert. n
In 2009, it expects to increase its operations
to 2,500 containers.
The company estimates that in 2010, it will
manage 5,000 containers with a total value of between
4 million and 5 million usd.

32 Negocios illustration oldemar
The Friendship
that Plowed
through the
Pacific
This year, four centuries of bilateral relations between Mexico
and Japan are being celebrated through the strengthening of a bond
that began with a shipwreck. Mexico was the first Western country
that recognized Japan’s autonomy. Today, Japan is the seventh
biggest foreign investor on Mexican soil.
By Karla Bañuelos SAENZ
Mexico and Japan seem very far away from
each other, separated by the vast Pacific Ocean.
However, both nations have maintained a
friendship that has lasted four centuries.
This long and fruitful relationship began
the way others end: with a shipwreck.
In 1609, the sailing ship San Francisco,
originating from New Spain (now Mexico),
shipwrecked off the coast of what is today
Onjuku, Japan. The ship had a crew of more
than 300 onboard, including Don Rodrigo de
Vivero, governor of the Philippines.
During his stay in the Asian country, Don
Rodrigo talked to Japanese authorities about
trade and navigation. A year later, on October
17, 1610, the crew headed by Don Rodrigo
ran aground on the coast of Acapulco, on
board of San Buena Ventura. With them was
a group of 23 Japanese traders who wanted
to establish trade relations between the
Asian continent and the New Spain.
That was the first time both countries
came together and today they have a solid
bilateral relationship marked by mutual respect,
trade and technical cooperation and
cultural exchange.
Japan is the seventh largest
foreign investor in Mexico
It was in 1888, during Porfirio Díaz’s government
and after the restoration of Japan’s
imperial system with Emperor Mutsuhito,
when diplomatic relations between the two
countries were formally established with the
signing of the Friendship, Trade and Navigation
Treaty. It was the first such agreement
Mexico signed with an Asian country and it
turned it into the first Western nation to recognize
Japan’s autonomy.
Diplomatic and trade relations between
both countries were interrupted by World
War II. They were renewed in the post-war
years when Mexico began exporting various
products to Japan, mainly husk rice, henequen,
pita and zapupe (varieties of agave),
jute (a plant fiber) and cotton. After 1951,
Japanese imports increased as a result of the
country’s economic expansion.
In the second half of the 1950s, Japan
imported manufactured goods from Mexico
and it exported textiles, medicines, plastics,
machinery, radios and automobiles. Between
1960 and 1965, Japan’s economy enjoyed a
stage of tremendous growth this period is
actually known as the “Japanese miracle.”
Japanese companies began an internationalization
process by establishing themselves in
other countries. In Mexico it was mainly in
the manufacturing industry, with a total of 27
companies setting up shop, including Nissan,
Mitsui, Hitachi, Toshiba, Suntory, Mitsubishi,
Matsushita, NEC, Ajinumoto, Citizen and Japan
Airlines.
The strengthening of a relationship
As much in Mexico as in Japan there exists
a series of governmental and private institutions
that for decades have directed their
resources to strengthening the relationship
between both countries in all areas.
In 1958, JETRO (the Japan External
Trade Organization) was founded. It is a
government-related group that promotes
trade as well as investment, technological
and cultural exchanges. The organization established
an office in Mexico the same year
it was created.
Under JETRO’s sponsorship, a committee
to strengthen relations between Mexico
and Japan was founded in 1999. A year later,
it published a report on the reasons and
resulting effects of a free trade agreement
between both countries. After a series of negotiations,
the Economic Partnership Agreement
was signed in September 2004. Since
Japan in Mexico
Japan External
Trade Organization
(JETRO) México
www.jetro.go.jp/mexico/
+ 52 (55) 5202 7900
+ 52 (55) 5202 8003
Japanese Embassy
in Mexico
www.mx.emb-japan.go.jp
+ 52 (55) 5211 0028
The Japan Foundation
www.jpf.go.jp
www.fjmex.org
+ 52 (55) 5254 8506
Japanese Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
in Mexico
www.japon.org.mx
Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA)
www.jica.go.jp

eport mexico-japan
2005, this has allowed Mexico to consolidate
itself as a production base for North, Central
and South America, as it did in Europe. This
is thanks to different trade agreements the
country has signed with these regions.
In October 2008, the fourth meeting of
the committee was held. During this reunion,
various topics were discussed including
access of Mexican agricultural products
to Japan; improvement of public security;
immigration procedures; tourism; as well as
other bilateral and trade topics.
Another of the institutions that promotes
bilateral relations is the Mexican Society of
Japanese Studies (Someja), which supports
understanding between both countries and
provides information on related cultural,
educational and trade activities.
There is also the Mexico Japanese Association
(AMJ), which brings together the
Japanese community living in Mexico, as
well as Mexicans interested in learning in
depth about the Nippon culture. Its mission
is to be a symbol of the Japanese community
in the country.
Mexico in Japan
Ministry of External Relations
www.sre.gob.mx
Mexican Embassy in Japan
www.sre.gob.mx/japon
Mexico’s Ministry
of Economy
www.economia.gob.mx
ProMéxico’s Office in Tokyo
(813) 35 80 08 11
cc.japon@promexico.gob.mx
Mexican Society
of Japanese Studies
+ 52 (55) 5536 4024
Mexico Japanese
Cultural Institute
www.icmj.org/instituto.html
Mexico Japanese
Association (AMJ)
www.kaikan.com.mx
EXPORTS FROM
MEXICO TO JAPAN
IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
2000
930.54
2001
620.56
2002
1,194.21
2003
1,172.59
2004
1,190.50
2005
1,470.02
2006
1,594.04
2007
1,912.64
2008
2,046.04
2009* 491.88
* January to April SOURCE: BANK OF MEXICO
Finally, the Mexico Japanese Cultural
Institute, a nonprofit community group, supports
cultural exchange and understanding
between both countries.
Bilateral relations
In the last few years, Latin America has
turned into the region with the biggest increase
in exports to Japan. The Asian country
has a free trade agreement with Chile and
maintains important trade relations with Argentina
and Brazil. However, Mexico remains
its main trading partner in the region.
Japan is at the top of the list of Asian countries
that buy Mexican products. In 2008, Mexican exports
to Asia increased to nearly 8.7 billion usd.
Close to 2.1 billion usd of this total were from Japan,
whereas 2 billion usd were received from
China; 1.7 billion usd was the sum from South
Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore; and
1.5 billion usd proceeded from India.
Among Mexican exports to Japan that have
experienced the biggest increase, the main industry
is agricultural products. In 2008, their
exports increased by 21.6% from the previous
year, reaching a total of 757 million usd. Of
these products, meats represent 50% of exports,
making Mexico Japan’s fourth biggest
trade partner in beef and pork products.
Other Mexican products that have increased
their presence in Japan are fruits like
avocado, melons, and bananas.
According to figures from Mexico’s Ministry
of Economy, Japan is the seventh largest
foreign investor in Mexico, with more than
4 billion usd between 1994 and 2008, which
represent around 3% of all FDI in the country
during that period.
Most of Japanese investment in Mexico
can be found in the electronic, automotive,
aeronautic, clean technologies and information
technology industries.
In 2008, nearly a dozen Japanese production
plants connected to the automotive,
electronics and computer sectors, and run
by such companies as Isuzu Motors, Hino
Motors, Toyota, Sumimoto and Casio Computer
Co., were opened in Mexico. n

34 Negocios photo BAGO STUDIO
Strategic
Alliances,
a Two-Way
Street
Strategic alliances with foreign
companies have become an
important part of the business
landscape in Mexico. This is a
two way street with multiple
benefits for companies embarking
along such partnerships.
By Graeme Stewart
Business worldwide has suffered over the
past year due to the economic downturn but
many companies have found creating a strategic
alliance with a foreign firm has helped
soften the blow of the credit crunch.
Grupo Indi is a Mexican consortium with
more than 30 years of experience which has
found that forming a strategic alliance with a foreign
company has real benefits for both parties.
The consortium is made up of several
companies that offer different services in the
construction business such as technology, engineering,
real estate and tourism. Its commitment
and solid performance has allowed it to
become one of the 10 principal companies in
the Mexican construction industry.
“Our wide experience includes contracts
in infrastructure, deep drilling foundation,
building construction and maritime works,”
said Manuel Muñoz Cano, president of Grupo
Indi. “Among the most important are the
second level of Mexico City’s main highway
“Periférico,” the construction of the multimodal
containers terminal in Lázaro Cárdenas’
port in Michoacán and the turnkey
contract construction of the new Senators’
Chambers Building, currently in progress.”
Muñoz said his company has also successfully
participated in the construction
and operation of hotel developments in several
Mexican tourist destinations and most
recently in administration agreements and
public-private partnerships.
“In April we established a strategic alliance
with one of the most important construction
companies of Portugal, Soares
da Costa, which was looking for a partner
here in Mexico,” he said. “Now together we
are taking part in a tender to construct the
Ciudad Valles to Tamuin road in San Luis
Potosí. At the moment this is an administration
agreement, but it is only the first and we
hope to take part in many more. A synergy
with them will allow us to undertake bigger
and more important projects.”
The aim of the strategic alliance with
Soares da Costa was to allow Grupo Indi
access to construction projects worth more
than 100 million usd.
This year, because of the world financial
crisis, Mexican construction companies have
struggled to participate and compete in bids
for jobs. Some have solved this problem
through strategic alliances with foreign companies,
others by going to banks.
In return, foreign companies can benefit
from our experience, access to established
distribution networks, reduced investment
costs and our familiarity with conducting
business in the Mexican market, he said.
“We believe Mexico is a country of opportunities
and now is a very good time to
invest here because our country has great
growth potential,” Muñoz said.
MVS Comunicaciones, one of the largest
Mexican media and telecommunications
conglomerates, and US-based EchoStar
Corp. have formed a joint venture, Dish
Mexico, to launch Dish, a satellite TV service
in Mexico.
EchoStar provides equipment, digital
broadcast operations and satellite services
worldwide. It has 25 years of experience
designing, developing and distributing advanced
set-top boxes and related products
for pay television providers.
The new direct-to-home (DTH) satellite
TV service, which has a wide variety of digital
audio and video channels, is delivered via
an EchoStar-provided high powered direct
broadcast satellite that allows the service to
reach every corner of the country.
Initially, the service was launched in the
cities of Puebla and León but is now available
across Mexico.
“This joint venture between MVS and
EchoStar makes it possible for a large sector
of Mexico’s growing population to receive a
popular lineup of all digital television channels
at an attractive price,” said Charlie Ergen,
CEO and chairman of EchoStar.
“The opportunity to partner with MVS
for a variety of services created an exciting
opportunity for EchoStar as we entered the
Mexican market,” he said.
The basic service includes 25 Spanish
and English-language channels for around
10 usd per month.
The basic package includes children’s
programming, general entertainment, educational
channels, sports programming and
music channels.
Moreover, Dish offers premium movie
packages with no commercials at an affordable
monthly price.
“The alliance of MVS with EchoStar for
the launch of a direct-to-home satellite TV
service generated an innovative and avantgarde
product,” said Ernesto Vargas, CEO of
MVS Comunicaciones. “Both companies are
benefiting from our partnership and I would
expect strategic partnerships to become
more common.”
Vargas believes with Dish, the best pay
TV channels now reach most homes in the
country at an affordable price. It broadcasts
the most popular channels among Mexican
families while offering a monthly cost lower
than any other comparable pay TV service
in the market.
“We’re confident Mexican families enjoy
our well-rounded programming lineup, including
children’s programming, educational
content, sports and music channels and
premium movies,” he added. “This is a result
of our strategic partnership with EchoStar. It
has been very successful.”
The United Kingdom is a good example
of how partnerships can benefit both Mexican
and foreign businesses. Often packaging
a product in a way that will appeal to
European consumers can increase export
numbers to that continent. The UK offers
marketing and packaging advice to various
“We believe Mexico is a
country of opportunities and
now is a very good time to
invest here because our country
has great growth potential,”
Muñoz said.

eport strategic Alliances
companies looking to export their products
to Europe.
Design Bridge, for example, creates and develops
brands for many prestigious companies.
Thanks to its experience with alcoholic beverage
producers such as Tiger Beer, Heineken,
Carlsberg, Pernod Ricard and Moet Hennessy,
the firm was approached by FEMSA (Latin
America’s largest beverage company) to revamp
the secondary packaging of its Sol beer brand.
FEMSA believed the packaging failed to reflect
the brand’s core values, lacked consistency from
country to country and failed to compete in an
aggressive market with a growing number of
competitors. Design Bridge was hired to create
an eye-catching design for the secondary packaging
to reaffirm Sol’s brand values to consumers
and boost its position in the international market.
The result captured the spirit of Sol in a refreshing
way, playing on the brand’s provenance
and “summer party” values. The design stands
out in a competitive environment, aligns it on a
worldwide scale and helps modernize and refresh
the brand’s image.
“FEMSA first approached us to reposition Sol
beer because of our international approach to
creative consumer branding,” said John Morris,
Design Bridge’s managing director. “The worldwide
success of Sol has helped cement our relationship
with FEMSA; we are working on some
very exciting projects for them at the moment.”
For companies that are working in research
and development, UK Trade and Investment (the
British homologue of ProMéxico) has a Global
Partnerships Programme to help Mexican companies
find suitable partners in the United Kingdom.
And in more traditional ways, partnerships
between British and Mexican companies continue
to supply products that neither one could
provide alone. For this reason, in February, the
joint Mexican - UK consortium DMGP, which includes
the British Penspen Group, was awarded
a 1.3 billion usd contract to upgrade Mexico’s oil
infrastructure in the Gulf. n
Other Mexican companies that enjoy strategic
alliances with foreign companies include:
• Xignux, the Mexican industrial
consortium that makes cables, transformers
and food with the Japanesebased
Yazaki Corporation.
• Silanes, the consortium that produces
and sells medical and pharmaceutical
products, such as Metformin
and Lidocaine, with the French company
Sanofi-aventis.
• Grupo Bal, the mining and financial
services company, with Francebased
Ondeo. Mining company Grupo
Ferrominero with Singapore Technologies
Kinetics.
• URBI, the homebuilder, with USbased
Prudential Real Estate Investors.
• Tire manufacturer Corporación
de Occidente with US-based Cooper
Tires.

36 Negocios
Mexico and China,
A Growing Financial
Friendship
A trade specialist asserts Mexico has
much to offer to Asia. A blossoming and
necessary trade relationship between
Mexico and China involves several
benefits for both countries, which
include exchange of a large variety
of products and extensive markets
where the two nations have found
success in selling their goods.
Due to its advantageous geographic position
that puts it next to the United States
and nearly at the center of the Americas,
Mexico is one of the main receivers of goods
in Latin America, according to the country’s
National Institute of Statistics and Geography
(INEGI). The Mexican news agency
Notimex adds that during the final three
quarters of 2008 exports from China to
Latin America grew to 111.5 billion usd, with
Mexico, Brazil and Chile being its three
main business partners.
The same source said China is Mexico’s
second biggest trade partner. In 2008, Mexico
imported nearly 35 billion usd in Chinese
products, more than the rest of Latin
America altogether. At the same time, the
country exported more than 2 billion usd
worth of products.
In the last few years, Mexico has diversified
its imports from China. This is not
a surprise. Mexico has become one of the
main manufacturing centers in the Americas
and it has included Chinese companies
“My father’s life has
been chameleonic,
from when I was a child
until today. Every day
he speaks English,
Chinese and Spanish,”
Liu Jr. said.

mexico’s partner Otm
in different high value sectors like electronics
or Information Technology. These sectors
have been established in the country
with one objective in mind: to meet the
growing demand of North and Latin American
markets.
As a result, Mexico is buying raw materials
for traditional sectors. For example, Mexico’s
shoe industry imports large volumes of
synthetic soles from China. Mexico is also
buying more electronics, computers, automobile
accessories and toy parts to meet the
needs of a growing specialized industry.
The Mexican product most in demand
in China is beer. But Mexico has much
more to offer the Asian country, said Martino
Liu Jr., head of business development
for the Mexican company Outsourcing &
Trade Magnum (OTM).
Since 2004, OTM, with offices in Guadalajara,
Mexico City and Beijing, China, has
dedicated itself to the purchase of Mexican
and Chinese products for their export and
import through its predecessor, Orbicargo,
an international cargo and logistics agency
born in 1994. Both were funded by their
founder, Martino Liu Chow, Liu Jr.’s father.
Orbicargo was born from an unprecedented
vision of the future. “The company’s
objective was to offer consulting services to
Mexican firms so they could begin trade relationships
with China,” Liu Jr. said.
OTM is a young company
but essential to trade between
Mexico and China. It has an
important advantage: its founder
Martino Liu Chow was born
in China and after journeying
through various countries in
Europe and the Americas, he
established himself in Mexico
in the early 1980s.
www.orbicargo.com
OTM emerged after its predecessor was
well established and its founder moved to
Beijing. It buys products from both countries
and sends them at the request of their
clients.
Contrary to what one might think, the
exchange of goods is easy. Mexico and China
have signed one treaty that offers preferred
interest rates to import and export
loans and another that avoids double payment
of taxes in both countries.
“My father’s life has been chameleonic,
from when I was a child until today. Every
day he speaks English, Chinese and Spanish,”
Liu Jr. said.
Martino Liu Chow (whose proper
Chinese name is Shin Jen Liu Chow) was
born in the 1950s and was raised in Tai-
wan. During his adolescence he moved to
Italy, where he went to high school and rechristened
himself with his Latin name. In
Spain, he completed a bachelor’s degree in
liberal arts and then in Canada he studied
business. There he got to know Mercedes,
the Mexican woman who would later become
his wife. In 1981, the family moved to
Mexico. Martino Liu Chow worked for a
trading company. Later, he founded a plastics
factory, which he closed in 1994.
After traveling so much from continent
to continent and through his firsthand experience,
Martino Liu Chow knows very
well what China and Mexico need from
each other. “We have sent containers with
several tons of processed juice; two (40 ton)
containers with giant squid that have been
so successful we are sending a third; soap
for restrooms; and samples of whole-grain
cookies,” said Liu Jr.
It should also be added to the mix the
fact that China and Mexico are excellent
trade partners. An example: in the Asian
country they favor eating organic foods and
healthy products. Mexico has centuries of
experience in the production of these goods.
The Chinese and Mexican economies complement
each other. Each one has much of
what the other needs and that is the foundation
of a solid trade relationship that has yet
to say everything it needs to. n

38 Negocios
infographicoldemar
MAIN MEXICAN PRODUCTS
EXPORTED TO CHINA
Electrical and electronic equipment
BILATERAL TRADE
BETWEEN MEXICO AND CHINA
Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, etc.
Ores, slag and ash
Vehicles other than rail and tram cars
Organic chemicals
Copper and goods derived from it
Optical, photo, technical,
medical and other equipment
Plastics and goods derived from it
Iron and steel
Cotton
Rawhides and skins
(other than furs) and leather
Aluminum and goods derived from it
Rubber and goods derived from it
Tanning and dyeing extracts,
tannins, pigments
Other base metals, cermets
and good derived from them
Salt, sulfur, earth, stone,
plaster, lime and cement
Fish, crustaceans, mollusks,
aquatic invertebrates
Beverages, spirits and vinegar
EXPORTS FROM
MEXICO TO CHINA
Millions of dollars
653.91
2009*
203.60
2000
281.79
2001
653.91
2002
974.38
2003
986.31
2004
1,135.55
2005
1,688.11
2006
1,895.34
2007
2,044.76
2008
*January – April

mexico’s partner Otm
MAIN CHINESE PRODUCTS
IMPORTED BY MEXICO
Electrical, electronic equipment
Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, etc.
Toys, games, sports equipment
Optical, photo, technical,
medical and other equipment
Plastics and goods derived from it
Vehicles other than rail or tram cars
Furniture, lighting, signs,
prefabricated buildings
Organic chemicals
Miscellaneous articles of base metal
Rubber and goods derived from it
Leather and animal goods
Fertilizers
Iron and steel
EXPORTS FROM
CHINA TO MEXICO
Millions of dollars
Aluminum and goods derived from it
Mineral fuels, oils, distilled products
Knitted or crocheted fabrics
Ceramic products
34,690.32
2008
14,373.85
2004
17,696.35
2005
24,438.29
2006
2,876.62
2000
4,027.26
2001
6,274.39
2002
9,400.60
2003
9,209.50
2009*
Sources: Bank of Mexico/World Trade Atlas, 2009

40 Negocios
Negocios figures
The Asian Invasion
Imports and Exports
Investment by Selected APEC Countries in Mexico
Millions of dollars
Year Australia China Hong Kong Japan Korea New Zealand Singapore Taiwan
2009** 0.8 0.4 0 11.6 1.8 0.6 18.8 1.8
2007 134.9 8.3 2.3 376.1 40.4 0.3 101.2 9.6
2005 24.2 4.6 2.0 123.6 96.3 0.2 12.0 25.4
2000 7.5 10.7 4.0 419.1 30.2 0.0 80.9 11.5
It does not include estimated external investment amounts that were undertaken but have not
been registered at the Ministry of Economy’s General Direction of Foreign Investment.
**Figures from the
first quarter of 2009
INVESTMENTS BY APEC COUNTRIES IN MEXICO BY SECTOR
DURING THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2009, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
1,103.00
Manufacturing
(Industries,
including
maquiladoras or
factories)
546.5
Trade
392.5
Community
and social
services
(Hotels and
restaurants,
professional,
technical,
personnel)
39.6
Mining
and oil
drilling
36.9
Financial
management
services,
property rental
and real estate
18
Transport and
communications
0.3
Agriculture,
livestock,
hunting,
forestry and
fishing
Source: Ministry of Economy.
Source: Ministry of Economy
Main locations in Mexico
FOR INVESTMENT BY APEC
COUNTRIES DURING THE FIRST
QUARTER OF 2009
Mexico City 805.9
Estado de México
Nuevo León
549.8
211.4
Baja California
Chihuahua
195.7
120.5
Tamaulipas 88.7
Sonora 82.6
Puebla 18.4
Coahuila 17.6
Durango 13.2
Guanajuato 11.2
Zacatecas 8.6
Michoacán 5.3
Querétaro 3.8
San Luis Potosí 2.5
Sinaloa 1.9
Veracruz 0.6
Morelos 0.4
Nayarit 0.4
Baja California Sur 0.1
Source: Ministry of Economy
Mexican Exports to Asia by Country
Millions of dollars
infographic oldemar
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*
% increase
from
‘00 to ’08
Total exports 2,158.38 2,222.65 3,309.86 3,683.09 3,941.53 4,779.00 6,385.55 7,612.85 8,625.70 1,626.23 299.64
China 203.59 281.78 653.92 974.37 986.31 1,135.55 1,688.11 1,895.35 2,044.76 502.38 904.35
Hong Kong 187.26 119.78 151.20 144.34 173.49 192.08 281.66 327.89 395.94 101.36 111.44
India 59.66 160.31 328.41 487.36 446.21 560.77 680.30 1,045.62 1559.11 249.36 2513.33
Indonesia 12.06 13.71 16.95 25.31 26.54 66.28 46.33 42.81 63.26 10.86 424.54
Israel 54.64 39.42 55.63 61.37 61.55 87.28 90.62 129.54 221.85 37.80 306.02
Japan 930.54 620.56 1,194.21 1,172.59 1190.50 1,470.02 1594.04 1,912.64 2,046.04 372.23 119.87
Korea 188.89 309.76 181.77 188.39 226.57 249.86 463.82 683.67 540.67 67.02 186.24
Malaysia 57.04 67.23 85.87 67.97 57.37 53.57 100.10 122.82 113.82 20.05 99.54
Philippines 11.37 16.39 19.94 20.29 17.77 40.71 57.53 74.61 65.98 7.63 480.30
Singapore 196.40 242.24 198.55 189.37 311.96 326.66 254.09 336.01 426.50 68.25 117.16
Taiwan 143.63 171.89 208.24 147.98 205.90 199.63 441.45 271.81 307.15 20.24 113.85
Thailand 45.57 62.85 54.28 53.70 51.22 97.57 118.33 167.06 129.08 14.20 183.26
Other countries 67.74 116.73 160.89 150.05 186.14 299.02 569.15 603.02 711.53 154.86 950.38
*January – March
Source: Bank of Mexico

Op. 42
The lifestyle
T h e C o m p l et e G u i d e of t h e M ex i c a n Way of L i fe .
The Tattoo of
Contemporary
Art
p. 60
Interview
Bernardo
de niz
A Mexican photojournalist
in China
Photo: Bernardo De Niz at Jiagedaqi Ski Resort, Heilongjiang Province, China, by Oak Taylor-Smith

42 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo bernardo de niz
“China
doesn’t look
like anything,
not even
Mexico”
An interview with Bernardo De Niz, a Mexican
photojournalist in China
“China is much more diverse and complex
than what Mexico imagines,” asserts Bernardo
De Niz, a photographer who is originally
from Jalisco. He says so with authority.
As a freelancer, he has captured the general
outlines and the details of the Asian country
during the last three and a half years.
“China doesn’t look like anything, not
even Mexico,” he says in another of his observations.
That is probably true, starting
with its population. About 1.3 billion human
beings live in the world’s biggest country.
In his camera, De Niz has trapped, what
is for him, the essence of what thousands of
years ago was a key piece of human civilization
and today is one of the world’s most
powerful economies.
His work has been published on five continents,
in The Times of London and The
London Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom),
Terra (France), Metro (New Zealand), El
País (Spain) and South China Morning Post,
among other journals.
In this interview, granted in the city of
Guadalajara, the photographer gives his impressions
of living and working in China.
—Do you find something similar
between the Chinese and Mexican
cultures
—They, like us, very much enjoy eating
and drinking beer and each region of
the country offers a distinct gastronomic
variety. For them, family is also very
important.
—Do you think there are similarities
in the flavors and spices of the
Chinese and Mexican gastronomies
—No and what is even more curious is that
the Chinese food that is sold in Mexico has
nothing to do with food in China. Over there,
nothing has avocado nor chili nor creamy
cheese. Bittersweet dishes don’t exist there
and Chinese restaurants here offer it as
authentic cuisine. In general, China doesn’t
look like anything, not even Mexico.
—And Mexican food How authentic is
it in China
—One of the restaurants where the small
“foreign community” I have contact with
gets together was owned by some Mexicans.
On Fridays and Saturdays they would serve
tacos al pastor in a stand on Guang jua
lou Street. At first, the Chinese would eat
there. But it wasn’t many. The stand shut
down. Those same Mexican owners today
make tortillas and enchiladas and started
a home delivery service. It seems they are
doing better. What has done well is the
Bimbo brand. They introduced el Gansito
(a Mexican snack cake) about two months
ago. Delicious! I thought: if there’s Gansito,
we can have everything. In Beijing you can
also find packaged tortillas at a couple of
stores. El Fogoncito, a famous taquería in
Mexico City also opened a location there. In
reality, Beijing is a very cosmopolitan city, of
16 million inhabitants, where you can find
restaurants with gastronomy from around
the world that are very good and very
inexpensive.
—Besides Gansitos, what do they
know in China about Mexico
—They know us through soccer and boxing.
They might not know the names of soccer
players or boxers, but they know we stand
out for some reason. They know very
well that we are close to the United States.
—How is life as a Mexican
photographer in China
—Before the Summer 2008 Olympic Games,
it was rare that the population found itself
being photographed. At the start of 2006,
when I arrived in the country, people in
the city would stop me so they could take
photographs with me. It was rare for them
to find a foreigner. Even today, if you leave
the large cities and go to small towns, there
are people who have never seen a foreigner.
—Your job is difficult then How do
you explain to people what you are
doing
—Sometimes I communicate in my basic
Chinese, which more or less sounds like
this: “Wuo shi panyou, wuo shi sheyingzhi,
ni hen piaoling.” It means: “I am a friend,
I am a photographer and everything that
I am seeing is beautiful.” In reality, I don’t
know the language, except for the basics
like asking for a taxi and things like that.
In those instances, people always ask me
where I’m from, what do I do and how
much do I make. The discussion of money
is very open in China, which is different
from Mexico. In China, everyone asks
each other how much they earn, without
problems.
—What is the difference between China
and Mexico as far as your job as a
photographer and your everyday life
—It is the hardest working country
I have ever known. It’s amazing. I believe
that is something the world should learn
about the Chinese: they are always
working, even when resting. A friend
hired an ayí (a term that means aunt but
in China is used to refer to domestic
workers) to work Monday through
Sunday because that is how the woman
wanted it, so she could earn money

Interview Bernardo de niz
every day. My friend, feeling a bit
regretful about the arrangement,
decided to pay her for Saturdays and
Sundays but to let her rest on those
days. After some time, he asked his
ayí how she felt. She thanked him and
said, very emotionally, that thanks to her
days off she had started a company.
She found various homes that needed
domestic services and hired an army
of ayí to take care of the demand.
From Monday through Sunday,
the elderly get up very early to exercise.
The people are very disciplined, but,
in contrast to Latin Americans,
this isn’t very good for improvisation.
—Can one also assume that urban
spaces in Mexico and China can’t be
compared...
—No. The cities look futuristic, with
hundreds of avenues populated by
very tall buildings. Even so, many people
ride bicycles. Automobiles are a kind of
a novelty because they came in about 20
years ago and today there are a lot of them.
But it’s fascinating that compared to the rest
of the world, there are streets
for bicycles with lanes for cars. Another
thing we could learn from is the network of
ring roads in Beijing, that permit you to
get to almost any location.
—Sometimes differences are
opportunities. What do you think
would interest China from the
Mexican market
—Tequila is very famous in China
and so is Mexican beer. You find Corona
everywhere. It’s about an emerging
economy of consumers. People look for
brands and well-made things.
Mexico has an opportunity to develop
quality brands and sell them in China.
Tourism could also be a very extensive area.
The Chinese have more and more buying
power and Chinese tourism is growing
around the world, just as it once
did with the Japanese.
— Have your pictures captured the
essence of what you believe is China
—Yes. n
A Chinese woman, member of the new generation
of Wealthy chinese, in her luxurious apartment in
Soho, in Beijing.

44 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos bernardo de niz
On this page
Chinese couple surrounded by Chinese flags in a
park in Beijing, during the national day.
A tibetan woman holds her son inside of her home
in the Tibetan country side.
On the next page
A young chinese athlete training in the prestigious
Beijing Shicahai Sports School.
Chinese salsa enthusiastic getting ready for
the world Salsa Championship in Beijing.
On the next spread
Two little Girls at the Beijing Shichahai Sports
School, one of the main training centers for young Chinese
sports talents.

Interview Bernardo de niz

46 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos bernardo de niz

Interview Bernardo de niz

48 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos bernardo de niz
On this page
Ma Shao Feng teaches in a small courtyard in the
Dujia Tan Mosque in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Islam is considered the second largest religion in China.
A Chinese man burns incense during the Chinese
new year celebration in a Taoist temple in Beijing.
A young athlete practices weightlifting in southern
Chinese town of Xilong, where this sport is very popular.
On the next page
A tibetan monk in the Potala Palace, in the Tibetan
capital of Lhasa.

Interview Bernardo de niz

50 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos bernardo de niz
Chinese muslims in the Dujia Tan Mosque in
northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. There
are between 20 and 30 million muslims in the country.
Ice swimmers, better known as “Polar bears”, in the
Chinese border with Russia. They dive into -25ºC waters.
Chinese women watch television while they wait for
customers in a beauty shop in Beijing.
PERFORMANCE of the Young National Choir in the
National Center for performing Arts, in downtown Beijing.
A young chinese watching the snow landscape
from the inside of the brand new Beijing-Lhasa train,
which runs at 5200 meters above the sea level.

eport 4oo years of relations mexico-japan
Celebrating
Friendship
Through its history, Japan has learned to understand and adapt aspects of
Western culture while also sharing its millennial heritage with the rest of
the world. Mexico has not been the exception.
By Karla Bañuelos Saenz
Mexico and Japan share many cultural similarities:
the spirit of teamwork, the role and
importance of family and group identity. For
400 years both nations have held a strong
and fruitful friendship.
The first official academic and cultural
exchanges between the two countries began
in 1971. Although, many Japanese communities
were established in the country after
World War II, in places such as Mazatlán, Morelia,
San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Guadalajara,
Tijuana, Ensenada, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and
Mexico City, and have carried out an everyday
exchange with Mexican culture.
Nowadays, there are various institutions
promoting Japanese culture in Mexico, such
as the Japan Foundation, which supports
language teaching programs, artistic and
cultural exchange programs and finances
artistic expressions.
In order to recognize the friendship between
both countries, the Executive Committee of the
400 Year Anniversary of Relations Between
Mexico and Japan was created. Since March
2009, this group has sponsored commemorative
activities including seminars, exhibits and
book presentations.
One of these most recent activities was
the visit by the training ship Cuauhtémoc
to the Japanese ports of Yokohama, Harumi
(Tokyo) and Onjuku (where in 1609 the sailing
ship San Francisco shipwrecked after
traveling from New Spain, initiating the centennial
friendship between both nations).
Keizo Tanaka, President of the Executive
Committee, said this celebration looks
to “deepen the mutual comprehension between
both nations and the promotion of bilateral
exchange in multiple sectors with an
eye to the future.” n
Photo courtesy of the japan foundation

52 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos courtesy of Photoespaña
photography
Talented
Mexicans
Featured
at Festival
photo alejandra laviada
Mexican photographer Alejandra Laviada
has won PHotoEspaña’s Descubrimientos
PHE Epson 2009 prize, the award by the international
photography and visual arts festival
that is given to new, young talent.
Laviada, born in 1980, won the award for a
series in which she photographed sculptures
made with objects that had been thrown
away in buildings and random places to be
demolished or remodeled.
Another young talented Mexican photographer
who participated in the Descubrimientos
project was Óscar Fernando
Gómez, a 38-year-old taxi driver whose work
was part of the Resiliencia (Resilience) exhibit,
comprised of 145 photographs by 10 Latin
American young artists who are trying to reflect
the realities in which they live through
their work.
www.phe.es
photo óscar Gómez photo alejandra laviada
photo alejandra laviada

The Lifestyle briefs
ecology
Montebello,
Global Network
of Natural
Reserves
Lagunas de Montebello National Park in
Chiapas is now part of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s
(UNESCO) global network of biosphere
reserves.
Mexico is the country in Latin America
and the Caribbean with the largest number
of protected areas registered by UNESCO
(37 total) and it is fourth on the list worldwide,
only behind the United States, Russia
and Spain. To date, the global network has
553 reserves registered in 106 countries.
For UNESCO, the national park’s importance
is found in its location: a hydrographic
basin of great biodiversity that unites Chiapas’
Central High Plateau with the Gulf of Mexico’s
coastal plain. Everything found in this area,
from the lakes to the landscape, turn Montebello
into a zone essential for the conservation
of hydric resources and climate regulation. Also,
local communities take part in agricultural activities
that help take care of the environment.
Some of the 36 natural areas in Mexico
already in the global network of biosphere reserves
include: Montes Azules, in Chiapas; Islas
del Golfo de California (also known as the
Sea of Cortes, located between the Baja California
peninsula and Sonora and Sinaloa); El
Cielo, in Tamaulipas; Sierra de Manantlán, in
Jalisco; and Cuatrociénegas, in Coahuila.
portal.unesco.org
photos courtesy of israel cárdenas

54 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo courtesy of cinépolis
cinema
More
Movie
Theaters
for India
Mexican movie theater chain Cinépolis has
plans to take advantage of the booming Indian
film industry by opening new movie
theaters in the Asian country in 2010.
For Cinépolis, going into a country with
more than 1 billion people and an economy
that grows at an annual rate of 8% represents
a great opportunity. At an initial phase,
the company will build several complexes
with more than 14 screens.
The company became interested in India
because of its cinematic production –nearly
1,000 movies each year, more than what Hollywood
produces– and because its residents are
big cinema fanatics: on average, Indian citizens
go to the movies four times a year while Mexicans
go 1.7 times, according to a report by El
Universal newspaper.
Cinépolis is the fifth largest operator of
movie theaters in the world, with more than
2,000 screens in six countries. Founded in
1947 and based in Morelia, Michoacán, in
the last five years it has built more than 200
movie theaters per year.
www.cinepoliscorporativo.com.mx

The Lifestyle briefs
arquitecture
Mexicans
Build in China
Nine Mexican architectural firms will participate
in Ordos, a project for a new city
within the territory of Inner Mongolian Autonomous
Region of the People´s Republic of
China.
art
restoring
frida
kahlo’s
work
A significant part of Frida Kahlo’s work
will be restored with help from the German
government.
The Mexico City museum that bears
her name will receive a grant of about
70,000 usd to be used for restoring 40%
of the artist’s work: around 14 oil paintings,
100 photographs, 13 textile pieces
and other restorations of pieces found at the
museum.
The German government made this donation
for several reasons: to help honor
Mexico’s Bicentennial celebration of its independence;
and to help celebrate the 20 year
anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is one of the
most famous Mexican painters in the world.
www.milenio.com
SUMMER IN GERMANY
For summer 2010, Mexico will send
to Berlin a Frida Kahlo retrospective
made up of around 80 pieces.
photo rojkind arquitectos
From Mexico to China
Mexican firms collaborating
on the project:
• Dellekamp Arquitectura
• Productora
• At103
• Tatiana Bilbao
• Frida Escobedo
• FRENTE arquitectura
• Rojkind Arquitectos
• Taller Territorial de México
literature
Jorge Volpi’s
Scarce Dream
El insomnio de Bolívar (Bolivar’s Insomnia) has
won Mexican writer Jorge Volpi the Debate-
Casa de América nonfiction prize.
According to the jury of the prize, awarded
by Casa de América and publisher Random
House Mondadori through its Debate imprint,
Volpi’s book is “thoroughly documented,
avoids an academic tone and with humor, irony
and great literary accomplishment contrib-
utes to the comprehension of the American
continent.” The honor includes a prize of about
50,000 usd and publication of the book in Spanish
language countries.
Volpi is author of En busca de Klingsor (In
Search of Klingsor, 1999), that won him the
Spanish literary prize Biblioteca Breve and the
French Deux Oceans-Grizane Cavour prize,
and has been translated into 25 languages. In
2008, he published El Jardín devastado (The
Devastated Garden).
www.casamerica.es
This project, from Chinese magnate Cai Jiang,
began in 2008. It will be a city built in about
10 years and is meant to have a population of
around 200,000 people. Besides residences,
Ordos’ urban landscape will be comprised of
cultural and commercial complexes.
During the first stage, 100 firms from 27
countries were chosen to build homes measuring
1,000 square meters. Mexico has the
third largest number of participants in the
Ordos projects, behind the United States and
Switzerland. Each firm received more than
41,000 usd.
www.ordos100.com
photo daniel mordzinski

56 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo courtesy of kurimanzuto
Dr. Lakra,
the tattoo of
contemporary art
Jerónimo López Ramírez, who is better known as Dr. Lakra, has
combined the worlds of tattooing and painting into a new art form.
By superimposing provocative tattoos of demons and erotic shapes
on magazine images from the 1950s, Dr. Lakra has inked a unique
place in contemporary Mexican art.
A collection of magazines and posters from
the 1950s, ink and his uniquely creative concept
have turned Jerónimo López Ramírez
–better known as Dr. Lakra– into one of the
most important exponents of contemporary
Mexican art.
With the mind of a surgeon and the hands
of a tattoo artist (his original job), López (born
in 1972 in Mexico City) has created work
that intervenes itself among old images –the
majority of which are charged with eroticism
that seemed incendiary when he was
just beginning and is still very provocative
nowadays. On the bodies of nude or seminude
women who were eager to exhibit their
roundness, the painter creates posthumous
tattoos, drawing demons, sexual organs and
false teeth. It is an exercise many passersby
have mischievously done on images found on
the streets.
“As pertinent as graffiti, the relative innocence
of the other is politicized and the images
are seasoned with a diabolical condiment.
Embellishment or social identification, the
works are a carnival of the grotesque. The
erotic firecrackers, the ancient ritual and the
hallucinogenic visions are established in a
collage of ideologies,” asserts the presentation
text of an exhibition by López at The
Saatchi Gallery in London.
As the resident artist at Kurimanzutto,
the prestigious Mexican contemporary art
gallery, Dr. Lakra’s works have traveled from
England –The Saatchi Gallery, Tate Modern
Kate MacGarry– to Japan, having passed
through the cities of Vienna, Madrid, Castilla,
Lisbon, San Francisco and New York.
The last crop of iconographic interventions
resulted in the book Health & Efficien-
cy (editorial RM, Mexico City, 2009). It is a
series that was partly inspired in a handful
of old magazines about nudist camps that Dr.
Lakra bought one rainy Sunday in a market
on Brick Lane in London. With Chinese ink,
tattooing needles, pencils, vinyl paint and
white gouache (an opaque watercolor), the
artist created demons to conquer the bodies
of the women who were photographed in
the 1950s for those magazines.
In addition, the artist’s work can be found
on human skin. Born in Mexico City but having
lived in the city of Oaxaca for several years now,
López is recognized for his work as a tattoo artist.
It was what opened the door to the world of
painting. Without a doubt, he assures that tattooing
and painting are distinct disciplines.
—How did Jerónimo López
Ramírez become Dr. Lakra
—At the end of the 1980s, between 1988
and 1989, I would frequently go with my
friends to the Chopo flea market (in Mexico
City). I decided between 1991 and 1992 to
become a tattoo artist and draw on human
skin at my house or at the homes of my
friends. Of course, I was already tattooed.
To do my job,I always carried a medical
bag where I would store my needles,
gloves and surgical masks. Everyone told
me I looked like a doctor.
—And how was it that
Dr. Lakra became an artist
—I was already painting and drawing before
I was tattooing. I was doing what I always
did: I never stopped painting. The good
thing was I never had to look for space
to do my work. I knew the people at
Kurimanzutto from before and they invited
me. In reality, I was very fortunate.
—Why do you continue tattooing
—Tattooing and painting are distinct
mediums of expression; they look
alike but can’t be compared. They
combine various arts. I go to tattooing
conventions and everything. On the other
hand, making a living from art is difficult
in Mexico or in any part of the world.
For a long time, I made a living from
tattooing because I couldn’t solely do
it from painting. Now, I combine them
without a problem. In my work, I am
a boat without direction. I go where the
air guides and takes me because in life
one thing (tattooing) took me to another
(painting) and brought me back. Today,
I make more specialized tattoos. I never
stopped working on different things.
—The tattoos you paint in your
artistic work, are they preconceived
like those of your “patients” or do
they emerge while you are working
—I have painted many pictures in which
I knew what I was going to create; for
example, sometimes I want the pieces to
only have tattoos that are used in Russian
prisons. Other times, they are random,
picked by chance.
—Tattoos are seen negatively in
some sectors. Do you think your
paintings have the same effect
—Times have changed. Today, most
people accept tattoos. There is also
a very conservative sector for which my
paintings can be very provocative. n

art dr. lakra

58 Negocios i The Lifestyle infographic oldemar
INTENSE CULTURAL EXCHANGE
FOR DECADES MEXICO AND CHINA HAVE HAD A LARGE VARIETY OF ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL
EXCHANGES. IN ORDER TO FOSTER THIS FRUITFUL RELATIONSHIP, A CULTURAL TREATY WAS SIGNED IN
1978 TO PROMOTE COOPERATIVE INITIATIVES IN THE ARTS AND INCREASE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE
ARTISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITIES IN BOTH COUNTRIES. UNDER THIS TREATY, TENS OF
ARTISTIC BILATERAL INITIATIVES HAVE BEEN PROMOTED.
For example, more than 20
Mexican authors have been
translated and published in
China. They include:
Juan Rulfo
Pedro Paramo
The Burning Plain
Carlos Fuentes
The Most
Transparent Region
The Death of
Artemio Cruz
Old Gringo
The Years With
Laura Diaz
Mariano Azuela
The Underdogs
SOME EXAMPLES OF CULTURAL EXCHANGES BETWEEN MEXICO AND CHINA ARE:
1973
Mexico,
splendor of
20 centuries:
Beijing,
Nanjing and
Shanghai
1979
Engravings
By José
Guadalupe
Posada
1987
Chucho
Reyes
1988
Lola Álvarez
Bravo and 10
Mexican
photographers
1994
The great
photographic
exhibit of Manuel
Álvarez Bravo
Engravings of
Jane Hendrix
Miguel León
Portilla
Vision of the
Vanquished
Fernando
del Paso
News of
the Empire
Octavio Paz
Assorted anthologies
of poetry and essays
Sergio Pitol
Married Life
The Art of Flight
Elena
Poniatowska
The Sky’s Skin
Ángeles Mastretta
Women With
Large Eyes
Another notable
exchange has been
in the area of television
entertainment. During
the 1980s, Mexican
television company
Televisa sold to Chinese
state television the rights
to transmit a variety of
Mexican soap operas.
1976
Chinese Archaeology
National Museum
of Anthropology and
History in Mexico City
2000-2001
Terracotta warriors and
horses from the Qin Dynasty
Mexico City
and Monterrey
MEXICO IN CHINESE, CHINA IN SPANISH
IN 2008, CLOSE
TO 350 MEXICANS
STUDIED IN
CHINA,
COMPARED TO
2000 WHEN THE
NUMBER DIDN’T
EXCEED 20.
THE STUDY OF THE CHINESE LANGUAGE IS GROWING
IN MEXICO. STARTING IN 2006, WITH THE OPENING OF
CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE LOCATIONS AT THE NATIONAL
AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO, THE AUTONO-
MOUS UNIVERSITIES OF NUEVO LEON, YUCATAN AND
CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO BECAME THE IBERO-AMERICAN
COUNTRY WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF SUCH
INSTITUTIONS.

eport mexico-china cultural exchange
1996
Engraving
collection
Mexican
stamps.
By José Luis
Cuevas, Rufino
Tamayo,
Francisco
Toledo and
Leonora
Carrington
Engravings
By José
Guadalupe
Posada
2000-2001
The Mayans
Beijing,
Shanghai, Xian
and Guangzhou
2002
Retrospective
of Juan
Soriano.
Shanghai
Biennial
Sculptors
By Pedro Reyes
and Francis
Alys
Beijing’s
Sculpture
Park
By Sebastián
and Javier
Santiago
2002-2003
Individual
exhibit of
Alebrijes de
Madera
(wooden,
brightly-colored
Mexican folk
art sculptures)
by artisan
Manuel Jiménez
from Oaxaca
2003-2004
The Mexican
mask
from the
collection of
Mexican
ethnologist
Georgina Luna
Parra
2004
The
Shanghai
Biennial
By Rafael
Lozano
and Maruch
Sántiz Gómez
2004-2005
Great
retrospective
exhibit of
José Luis
Cuevas
2005
Participation
in the Second
Beijing
International
Art Biennial,
with works by
Daniel Lezama,
Gustavo Aceves
and Arturo
Rivera
2008
Third Beijing
International
Art Biennial
with the
participation
of various
Mexican
artists.
By Gustavo
Aceves, Arturo
Rivera, Ray Smith,
Gerardo
Azcunaga, Paloma
Torres, Germán
Venegas, Marco
Arce, Irma
Palacios and
Javier Marín, who
won this important
festival
FORTY-FIVE UNIVERSITY CENTERS IN CHINA
OFFER COURSES IN SPANISH AT THE
BACHELOR’S DEGREE LEVEL OR AS AN
ELECTIVE LANGUAGE. ALSO, IN BEIJING
THERE ARE AROUND 20 PRIVATE SCHOOLS
THAT TEACH THE SPANISH LANGUAGE TO
INDIVIDUALS. IN 2006, A CERVANTES
INSTITUTE LOCATION OPENED IN BEIJING.
MEXICO INTENDS TO OPEN A
SERIES OF PARTNER CENTERS
FOR THE TEACHING OF
SPANISH AND MEXICAN
STUDIES AT THE SPANISH
DEPARTMENTS IN CHINA’S
MAIN UNIVERSITIES.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mexican Embassy in China

60 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos courtesy of unam
UNAM, Awarded
for its Influence
in Ibero-America
The National Autonomous University of Mexico
(UNAM) has received the 2009 Prince of
Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities
in recognition of its influence on the
Ibero-American culture and environment.
The jury for the award, given since 1981
by the Prince of Asturias Foundation of
Spain, judged UNAM to be “the academic
and formative model for many generations
of students from diverse countries. It has
nourished the Ibero-American environment
of very valuable intellectuals and scientists.”
The largest public university in Mexico
and Ibero-America “has promoted powerful
currents of humanistic, liberal and
democratic thought in America and it has
extended its decisive influence to create an
extraordinary variety of institutions that enlarge
the academic world and link it to the
society they serve,” the jury said.
UNAM was founded in 1910 as an institution
of superior teaching that was the heir to
the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico,
created in 1551. In 1929, Mexico’s government
granted it autonomous status and the
institution adopted its current name.
It is Mexico’s most important public university
and one of Ibero-America’s most
important research and education centers.
It has approximately 300,000 students and
PRIZE WINNERS
Mexican institutions and individuals who have winned the Prince of Asturias Award:
• UNAM
Communication and Humanities, 2009
• El Colegio de México
Social Sciences, 2001
• Ricardo Miledi (neurobiologist)*
Scientific and Technical Research, 1999
• Carlos Fuentes (writer)*
Writing, 1994
• Francisco Bolívar Zapata (molecular biologist)*
Scientific and Technical Research, 1991
• Fondo de Cultura Económica (Editorial fund)
Communication and Humanities, 1989
• Marcos Moshinsky (physicist)*
Scientific and Technical Research, 1988
• Pablo Rudomin (neuroscientist)
Scientific and Technical Research, 1987
• Emilio Rosenblueth (seismic engineer)*
Scientific and Technical Research, 1985
• Juan Rulfo (writer)
Writing, 1983
• José López Portillo (politician)*
International Cooperation,1981
more than 34,000 professors and researchers.
From its classrooms have come Mexico’s
three Nobel Prize winners - Mario Molina, in
Chemistry (1995); Octavio Paz, for Literature
(1990); and Alfonso García Robles; Peace
Nobel Prize (1982). Also, six of the eight who
have received the Prince of Asturias prize
have graduated from this university.
In the area of humanities, UNAM has
been recognized for its openness to Ibero-
American thoughts and ideologies and also
as a home for distinguished thinkers and
professors from around the world. Its humanities
research centers, such as its institutions
of historical, philosophical, philological
and aesthetic investigation, have generated
more than 2,700 books. Also, 16 specialized
periodicals are edited in its schools.
UNAM is in charge of administering the
National Library and the National Newspaper
Archive, as well as a network of 141
university libraries. It’s also in charge of one
philharmonic orchestra and a symphonic
one; radio and television stations; Mexico’s
most important film library, at the University
Center of Film Studies (Latin America’s
oldest film school); and a network of university
museums.
In 2007, UNAM’s main campus in Mexico
City, was declared Cultural Patrimony of Humanity
by UNESCO for being a monumental
collection of 20th century modernism.
Also, the university has several buildings in
Mexico City’s historic center that have also
been considered cultural patrimonies of humanity.
The Prince of Asturias prize is awarded
each year to eight people or institutions in
the areas of art, international cooperation,
harmony, social sciences, communication and
humanities, sports, scientific and technical research
and writing. n
source: prince of asturias foundation
* graduated from unam
www.fundacionprincipedeasturias.org

article unam
Founded in 1910,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México (UNAM) is one of
Ibero-America’s most important
public learning centers
• 18 departments
• 4 university schools
• 46 research institutes
and centers
• Nearly 300,000 students
• 34,000 professors
and researchers

62 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo courtesy of Instituto carso de la salud
Commited
to Health
Instituto Carso de la Salud
an initiative of the Carlos Slim
Foundation, is investing resources
and talent to help improve the
lives of the population in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
By Alejandra Atilano
To increase the number of people living longer
and better is the main goal of the Instituto
Carso de la Salud (ICS, the Carso Health Institute),
a community group begun in 2007 by
the Carlos Slim Foundation. It was created to
improve the health conditions of thousands
of people in Latin America through programs
that aim, among other goals, to reduce breast
cancer deaths; promote the early detection
of health risks in pregnant women and their
newborns; and timely treat chronic degenerative
illnesses like diabetes. “What we do
is look for solutions to problems in a direct
way...We could say we are an organization
with human feelings in search of innovative
solutions so that more people can live longer
and better,” said Roberto Tapia-Conyer, the
institute’s general director.
To achieve this, ICS has designed and
implemented diverse strategies. It encourages
the creation of human resources and
financial rewards for individuals and institutions
that have distinguished themselves
for their efforts to improve the health of
people, not only in Mexico but also in all of
Latin America and the Caribbean. It has 10
programs, each one designed to impact a
distinct health area. Its annual budget is 25
million usd, which mostly comes from the
Carlos Slim Foundation.
Stimulus for the
development of talent
As part of its strategy to encourage and recognize
actions that increase the well being of
the populations of Mexico, Latin America and
the Caribbean, ICS has since 2008 awarded
the Carlos Slim Health Prize to individuals
and institutions whose work helps improve
the health conditions of people in the region.
One of this prize’s objectives is to stimulate
the creation of leaders whose investigations,
innovations and developments in the
areas of health, nutrition and the environment
promote the well being of the population.
Each prize includes 100,000 usd.
In its first edition, prizes were awarded in
three categories: innovations in health systems;
individual research; and exceptional
institution. In total, 84 nominations from 12
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
were received and the winners were
Guillermo Soberón Acevedo, from Mexico;
Cesar Gomes Victoria, from Brazil; and the
community group Socios en Salud (Partners
in Health), from Peru.
In 2009, the honors were awarded to
Guillermo Ruiz-Palacios y Santos, from Mexico,
for his remarkable research, and to CIS-
ALVA of Colombia as best institution.
ICS also has a scholarship program
which offers economic and technological assistance
to young students and researchers.
Between 2007 and 2008, 1,318 scholarships
were awarded and projections for 2009 look
to increase that total to 1,659.
In addition, during the 17th International
AIDS Conference, held in Mexico City in August
Help for many
ICS has an annual operating
budget of 25 million usd.
It has donated medical equipment
to hospitals and clinics, benefiting
36,250 pregnant women and
their newborns.
It has awarded 1,318 scholarships
to students and researchers.
It has awarded 500,000 usd in
prizes to support health research
and innovation.
In 2008, it financed a total of 15
research projects in coordination
with other community groups. The
results of these projects have
benefited 122,000 people.
2008, the Carso Health Institute gave awards to
100 community groups that specialize in AIDS
so they could participate in the event.
Working together
ICS is part of the Mesoamerican System of
Public Health, an initiative of the governments
of Mexico, Central America and Colombia
that is working in coordination with
the Carlos Slim Foundation.
“We are participating inside this system
in the creation of the Mesoamerican Institute
of Public Health, a virtual education
platform,” said Tapia-Conyer.
The objective of this project is to strengthen
the health systems of Central American countries
in areas like malaria, dengue fever, immunizations,
prenatal care and nutrition, among
others.
The association also helps students from
Mesoamerican countries with scholarships
to study for a master’s degree or a doctorate
at the National Institute of Public Health in
Mexico. The Carso Institute and the Carlos
Slim Foundation help pay for tuition, air
travel and a monthly stipend of between 650
and 700 usd.
Another of the association’s initiatives is
the Health Observatory, which is made up
of a network of Latin American researchers
who are working to reach a consensus
on what are the most important and common
health issues. The observatory develops
knowledge, guidelines and help for the
health systems of participating countries.
On research matters, ICS looks to align itself
with other community groups to develop diligent
investigative projects. For example, a current
project with autistic children is developing
diagnostic methods to detect the disease.
What the project does is educate teachers,
parents and personnel from schools and
day care centers on how to identify signs of
autism among children so they can receive
attention and treatment on time.
Other investigations under way look to
help the detection of chronic kidney failure,
deafness, blindness and degenerative chronic
illnesses. Projects to improve nutrition in
adults and children are also being developed.
In the two years since its creation, ICS has
helped thousands of people. Its work is now
an important piece in the search for solutions
to health problems that currently exist
in Latin America and the world. n

feedback instituto carso de la salud
Instituto Carso de la Salud
works also in a project
with autistic children to
develop diagnostic methods
to detect the disease

64 Negocios i The Lifestyle
Programs
Amanece
(Awaken)
ITS OBJECTIVE IS TO HELP REDUCE
MOTHER-CHILD MORTALITY RATES
THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE MODEL
THAT FOCUSES ON PREGNANT
WOMEN AND IS BASED ON A
CREATION OF NETWORKS AND
THE USE OF STATE OF THE ART
TECHNOLOGY.
Tómatelo a Pecho
(Take it to Heart)
OFFERS INFORMATION ON BREAST
CANCER, ONE OF THE MAIN CAUSES
OF DEATH AMONG WOMEN, AS WELL
AS AWARD SUPPORT TO RESEARCH
PROJECTS AND INSTITUTIONS
FOCUSED ON THIS DISEASE.
CASALUD. ICS HELPS ESTABLISH
COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS THAT
IMPROVE COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH
SERVICES COVERAGE, ESPECIALLY
FOR THE POOR AND THOSE WHO
MOVE AROUND.
Comunicación
Educativa
(Educational
Communication)
A PROJECT ENCOURAGING
SELF-RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONE’S
OWN HEALTH INCLUDING: RISK
PREVENTION, THE SEARCH FOR
HEALTH CARE ALTERNATIVES
AND ADHERENCE TO
PRESCRIBED TREATMENTS
Hogar saludable
(A Healthy Home)
ENCOURAGES ACTIVITIES TO
CONTROL RISKS AT HOME WHICH
CAN AFFECT HEALTH. CURRENTLY, IT
PROMOTES THE USE OF ECOLOGICAL
STOVES IN RURAL MEXICAN ZONES
TO FIGHT INDOOR POLLUTION AND
DEFORESTATION.
Longevidad saludable
(Long-term Health)
IT TRIES TO ANTICIPATE AND
CONFRONT THE GREAT CHALLENGES
FROM NON-COMMUNICABLE
CHRONIC ILLNESSES, SUCH AS
DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION. IT IS
A GROUP OF INTEGRATED ACTIONS
THAT HELP THE SURVIVAL AND
HARMONIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF
ADULTS AND ALSO IMPROVES THE
QUALITY OF THEIR LIVES.
Telecomunicación
para la salud
(Telecommunication
for Health)
IT’S A PLATFORM FOR
THE MANAGEMENT OF
INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE
THROUGH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
TO HELP THE PREVENTION OF
CHRONIC ILLNESSES.
infographic oldemar
Salud sin fronteras
(Health Without
Borders)
THROUGH TWO PROJECTS –MAP
OF GLOBAL HEALTH RISKS AND THE
FUTURE OF GLOBAL HEALTH- ICS
LOOKS TO BRING ATTENTION TO
THE MAIN HEALTH PROBLEMS OF
THE 21 ST CENTURY.
Inversión social
(Social Investment)
THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS, PRIZES
AND AN ORGANIZATION OF COLLEGE
HEALTH PROFESSORSHIPS, IT HELPS
CREATE HUMAN RESOURCES AND
DEVELOP PROJECTS THAT HAVE A
POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACT.
Observatorio
de la salud
(Health Observatory)
ITS PURPOSE IS TO GENERATE
INFORMATION, ANALYSES AND
EVIDENCE THAT HELP IMPROVE
THE PERFORMANCE AND
STRENGTHEN THE TRANSPARENCY
OF HEALTH SYSTEMS IN LATIN
AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN