Business forum marked by sparse turnout

Friday, May 15, 1998 | 10:30 a.m.

Organizers of the inaugural Nevada-Latin American Business Forum say they were happy with the event.

That's despite a sparse turnout that saw fewer than 50 people attending its panel discussions.

Officials said a Friday afternoon start-up probably didn't help attendance at last week's forum, which was organized by the Latin Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.

"We'll probably have to re-evaluate how we staged the day, with the Friday afternoon lunch and the panel discussions later in the day," said Gayle Anderson, interim trade director with the Nevada Commission on Economic Development. "Generally speaking, I thought it was a very positive event."

"We don't look at the glass as half empty, we look at it as half full," said Otto Merida, executive director of the Latin Chamber of Commerce. "Our objective is to bring Southern Nevada's entrepreneurs together with people they can partner with here and in South America."

To accomplish that, Anderson made arrangements for the consuls general of five South American nations -- Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay -- to discuss their countries' respective policies on trade and offer descriptions of their economic conditions.

In addition to the panel discussion, the sponsors had a luncheon addressed by the economic counselor at the Embassy of Mexico's office of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Raul Urteaga Trani. Latin Chamber members also set up booths to display goods and services.

Merida said about 60 businesses were represented in the displays and about 300 registered to attend the luncheon and speaker discussions. However, there were no more than 50 attending the panel discussions at any one time.

South America is not a hotbed of activity by Nevada trade standards. The state's export statistics for 1997 show none of its countries being among the top 10. The most recent figures available show Peru at No. 18, Chile at No. 20, Brazil at No. 23 and Argentina at No. 25 by value of exports to those nations. Mexico was listed at No. 13.

But if there was an overall theme to the discussions by the consuls general, it was South America's potential.

One of the keys: Mercosur, the Southern Common Market, a group of four member nations and two associates that have joined forces to establish economic policy on a regional basis, much the way the European Union has galvanized that continent.

Members of Mercosur include Argentina, the country with the highest gross domestic product in South America, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, a nation with one of the region's highest standards of living. Associate members include Chile and Bolivia.

Luis Maria Kreckler of Argentina and Julio Giambruno of Uruguay described how Mercosur is now fourth by gross domestic product behind NAFTA, the European Union and Japan, and fourth in GDP percentage growth behind China, Southeast Asia and one of Mercosur's member nations, Argentina.

The other consuls general, in their individual presentations, explained how terrorism and dictatorships are behind them, how their economies are rebounding from periods of hyperinflation and how liberal trade policies are contributing to the recovery.

With some diplomatic groundwork in place, Merida and Anderson said their goal is to get business leaders together. That, however, will take time -- and money.

"This was an important first step for us," Merida said of the forum. "The city of Miami has been at this for 20 years," he said in reference to Florida's acknowledged gateway to South America.

But a big difference between Florida's and Nevada's economic development is that Florida has spent thousands of dollars in 20 years cultivating relationships. Nevada has one of the nation's smallest budgets for economic development, a point Merida hopes to bring to the public eye with legislative lobbying this summer.

A private economic development organization, he added, could move more quickly than a public or quasi-public group.

Merida said he would like to see a private-public partnership develop between businesses and the government with matching funds from the state available for economic development activities.

Nevada also has a formidable rival to the west in California, which is one of the largest concentrations of Hispanic residents in the nation. Merida said he and his colleagues have attempted to sell Southern Nevada as a good place for business based on climate, tax advantages and superior convention facilities.

A prominent Brazilian company has established a national office in Las Vegas. Amil International, a health maintenance organization, serves North America from its Las Vegas office established in 1996.

Other highlights from the forum:

* Giambruno, the consul general of Uruguay, suggested that Southern Nevada and his country have plenty in common since gambling is allowed in Montevideo. He suggested that the gaming industries of the two locations get together to discuss common concerns.

* Southern Nevada officials met with representatives of Varig, a Brazilian airline, about the prospect of initiating direct air service between Las Vegas and some leading South American ports of entry.

* The ranking ambassador for Argentina will make a visit to Las Vegas next month and trade and tourism topics will be on his agenda.