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Travel to any country in Latin America and you will see the visible hand of China at work: a computer manufacturing plant in Mexico, a copper mine in Peru, a football stadium in Costa Rica. In the year 2007, the thought of China in Latin America would have appeared, at best, improbable. But in a three-year stretch, China signed free trade agreements with Chile, Peru and Costa Rica, inked billions of dollars worth of deals in oil and mining projects throughout the region, and supplanted the US as Brazil’s biggest trading partner. Once almost unseen in Latin America, China’s bilateral trade has risen from $12bn in 2000 to well over $150bn today.

Given the importance of its new Asian friend, Latin Americans are rolling out the red carpets to Chinese business delegations and jumping on planes not only to Beijing but also to Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin.

Rationale Behind Chinese Investments in Latin America [...]

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The aim is to expand the company’s Tintaya Copper mine which is roughly 10km away, adding 60,000 tons of copper to annual production (a 60% increase).

Read more about this development in this article published by The Mining Journal

In line with China’s outbound investment strategies in Africa and Asia, China is now planning to create a $5 billion usd investment fund for Latin American investments.

The funds target investments will include, infrastructure (probably to help the Chinese get commodities out), agriculture, mining and energy.

Read more in Spanish from Argentinean DERF Agencia de Noticias.

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This video is a bit dated, but no less offers a concise perspective on Chinese gold demand. [AlJazeeraEnglish]

The portfolio of gold projects identified in Peru are likely to demand an investment of US$ 4.5 billion investment in the next six to eight years, which shows the country’s great mining potencial, reported Wednesday Peru’s National Mining, Petroleum and Energy Society (SNMPE).

Gold production in Peru to increase by 10% this year — Andina

Peru’s gold production would register an increase of 5-10% by the end of 2010, totaling 200.2 tons, Peru’s Mining, Petroleum and Energy Society (SNMPE) estimated today.

Peru’s mining exports up 53.8% totaling US$ 3.1 billion in January-February — Andina

Peru’s mining exports in the first two months of the year totaled US$ 3.1 billon,a 53.8 percent rise compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) reported.

Since 2005 Chinese firms and arms of the Chinese government have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign companies and raw materials. Each dot on this map tracks one of those investments, with larger dots representing…

Here are the basic facts and forecasts, provided via this article from Nasdaq.com. For the record, author Sophie Kevany, is a superb journalist who is actually based in Peru. This article does not do justice to her credo of true investigative journalism I have read in the past, but no less is always a good source for all that is Peruvian finance.

Check out her other articles on the WSJ, Decanter (yes she even writes about Peruvian wines and spirits), and well, just google her name and you’ll be greeted with a swarm of informative pieces about Peru and the greater South American region.

LIMA -(Dow Jones)- Peru’s free trade agreement with China is set to come into force early February, and it is expected to boost total trade values to an estimated $8 billion in its first year.

The treaty was ratified earlier this month by a supreme government decree, meaning Peru’s congress will not vote on it, state newspaper El Peruano said Wednesday.

The treaty excludes so called “sensitive products” such as textiles, shoes and clothing, Peru’s Vice Minister for Trade and Tourism, Eduardo Ferreyros, told El Peruano.

Trade between the two countries is expected to total about $5.5 billion in 2009. Of that, exports to China from Peru are expected to reach $3 billion, Ferreyros told state news agency Andina, while imports from China should total about $2.5 billion.

-By Sophie Kevany, Dow Jones Newswires; 51-198-903-8043; sophie.kevany@ dowjones.com

Rixin Development will acquire a 70% stake in the Chilean property.  Such a deal shows the power of China’s up and coming company’s.  For starters,  Rixin Development is listed only on a local provincial enterprise information website,  sdwin.com.  The company does not have its own home page.  Officially it is a “trader for home appliances, textiles, auto parts and so on, and importer and exporter of various products and technologies.” However, I wish any readers the best of luck if they undertake the challenge to find any further information from a official company medium.

If you follow Alibaba.com’s 101 on how to avoid being scammed in China, such a deal should probably send alarm bells off.   Perhaps in the post, economic-recession world of 2010, the traditional elements which define a professional entity are no longer necessary.  Especially when your a developing Latin American country hungry for investment… or a private investor in China, STARVING for investment opportunities in a very over-saturated market with little options on where to park your capital and have it grow at the same time.  It is clear, the deal is going through and that the company is legitimate.

Li Zihao, president of Rixin was recently quotes saying, “privately-owned companies are in a better position to invest in overseas natural resources.” Time will tell if this is actually true, or if the central government is content with allowing such a dynamic to emerge.

Read a more comprehensive article on the facts (which are known) surrounding this deal via this article over at ChinaMining.org.

Mining Deal

China Development Bank Corp has agreed to provide a $1 billion usd credit line to Corp Venezolana de Guayana, a.k.a, Venezuela’s state owned mining giant and aluminium producer, in exchange for a guarantee of access to any newly discovered mining resources in the future.

China’s rolling the dice on this one.  Most of the mining world knows Venezuela is sitting atop abundant mineral wealth, nonetheless, the country has always lagged its South American neighbors like Chile, Peru and Argentina when it comes to exploiting its mineral wealth.

Dishing out $1 billion usd, in a moment when China is searching for world to secure new sources of commodities and Venezuela is desperate for dollars/ cash this is a logical investment which could pay dividends if Venezuela can provide the institutional framework to develop a robust mining industry using Chinese capital.

Energy Deals

Dec 22 (Tuesday) – Caracas and Beijing sign a framework agreement to set up and manage a new JV (joing venture) to develop the Junin 8 Block in the Orinoco Belt.  The set goal is to produce 200,000 barrels per day of extra-heavy crude, according to an official report.

Dec 23 (Wednesday) – China National Offshore Oil Corp signed agreements with PDVSA to assist with deep water and ultra-deep water drilling and to evaluate reserves in the Orinoco Belt block known as Boyaca 3.

What is China getting in exchange for this “olive branch,” it is offering Venezuela?

According to this Chinamining article,

The agreements included a one-year contract – signed by Venezuela’s PDVSA and Petro China – that calls for Venezuela to ship 500,000 barrels per day of crude and related products to China.  As for the mining agreement, China will receive supplies of iron ore for their generosity.