LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 6

PARAGUAY | President interview

LF: When do you think the "new" Paraguay will
emerge?
HC: Some of the problems cannot be solved very fast. I think
in infrastructure, we will see changes very soon. But the fight
against poverty and education will take more time. We are very
conscious that no country can grow without education, without
health, without infrastructure. But many things can be done in
two or three years.
 
LF: The economy of Paraguay is still very dependent on
commodities. How are you diversifying it?
HC: We are betting on industrialized products. We used to
export soya just as a commodity, but more is being processed
locally now. We are turning our vegetable proteins into food.
I feel this market can increase a lot more, such as chicken
fattening.
 
  LF: What has been the response to your efforts to
attract foreign investment?
HC: Instead of talking about this myself, I would rather today
let the people who decided to come to Paraguay speak. I can
give the example of a Japanese company, Fujikura, a car parts
company that is 130 years old. They told me it was best decision
they took in all their life! Many others from Brazil, Argentina,
came too. They are our best marketing tools, the businesses that
came here.
LF: How important is it for Paraguay to access the
international capital markets at present?
HC: We will need all sources of financing: tax, PPP and
international loans. We need to increase the investment rate
from 18% of GDP to 25% with $16 billion of investment by 2018. I
think we are going to sell about $650 million in bonds.
My feeling is that we are going to have better conditions in
terms of interest rates and a longer maturity. The last bond was
for 10 years. I am pretty sure we can have a tranche of 10 years
and a tranche of 30 years.
This is what I think is going to happen. This is going to
happen within 90 days. If the market gives you 30-year bonds,
this means the country is having a very good time.
LF: To what extent have you managed to improve
operations at state-run companies and to modernize the
state bureaucracy?
HC: State-owned companies are fantastic, but they were very
badly managed. We need transparency and efficiency. I thought
it was going to be much harder, but there is almost no problem
in making the changes.
LF: There is a big issue of social inequality in Paraguay,
how are you tackling it?
HC: This is absolutely true, there is a big gap. We are all
responsible for that. The issue has been forgotten for many
years, and this is the big debt that we have to pay. We do not
want to just give money through social programs. We want to
give those people skills.

6 L ATINFINA NCE.COM - July/August 2014

This is currently happening with some auto parts companies
that offer them skills, so they will not depend on any parties,
they just depend on themselves and on their skills, and that is
the best thing that can happen.
 
LF: Where does Paraguay stand between Mercosur
(after its suspension and its readmission) and the Pacific
Alliance?
HC: Paraguay wants to be connected to the whole world.
We want to maintain Mercosur; we want to be working with the
Pacific side, too. We have to respect that people think differently.
But commercially we have to make all the efforts to connect
to all the markets. We have to acknowledge that some fantastic
progress has been achieved on the Pacific side. In Mercosur,
there are a lot of things to improve, but Mercosur has to exist.

"THE WORLD IS MORE THAN
IDEOLOGY TODAY. I DO NOT BELIEVE
IN LEFT OR RIGHT ANYMORE. I BELIEVE IN THE FIGURES: EFFICIENCY,
PERFORMANCE"

LF: But is there not an ideological split?
HC: I can assure you that that the atmosphere was much
more radical a few years ago than it currently is. Nowadays I go
to all the summits, and things have improved compared to what
they were two or three years ago. Each country can do whatever
it thinks is best, but all countries are ready to work together
now.
LF:  So are you the pragmatic president who can
navigate between Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance?
HC: The world is more than ideology today. I do not believe
in left or right anymore. I believe in the figures: efficiency,
performance. Some people say I am right wing. Today, we
should rather talk about honesty and transparency. What is the
difference if you are from the left or the right, if do not have
transparency and honesty?
 LF: You have been president for 10 months. Do you feel
it is easier than being a businessman? What do you prefer?
HC: I am not very comfortable with your question. But
the motivation that I have now is that it is absolutely possible
to improve the country a lot. With efficiency. I am pretty sure
that transparency and efficiency are going to change the face
of Paraguay. It is already happening. Until 2018, I have to be
president, there is no choice now. LF


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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement

Contents
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - Cover1
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - Cover2
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - Contents
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 2
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 3
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 4
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 5
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 6
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 7
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 8
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 9
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 10
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 11
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 12
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 13
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 14
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 15
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - 16
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - Cover3
LatinFinance - July/August 2014 - Paraguay Supplement - Cover4
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