Mexican economy official warns that pipeline explosions threaten foreign investment
The government warned of threats to robust foreign investment in Mexico, which doubled during the first half of 2007 compared with the same 2006 period.
By Agencies |
MEXICO CITY: This week's attack on Mexico's gas and oil pipelines has shut down more than 2,000 businesses throughout the country at a cost of $200 million (euro144 million) per day, an industrial official said on Wednesday.
The government warned of threats to robust foreign investment in Mexico, which doubled during the first half of 2007 compared with the same 2006 period.
The impact of six explosions early Monday on a dozen pipelines, all but one carrying natural gas, is greater on business than was initially estimated, said Miguel Maron, president of one of the country's two main manufacturing chambers, on W Radio.
On Tuesday, the day that both Volkswagen AG and Chrysler LLC announced factory shutdowns because of the loss of natural gas, officials estimated business losses at about US$100 million (euro72 million) a day.
The business sectors most affected are steel makers, which halted more than 60 percent of their production, and auto, cement, glass and food manufacturers.
Mexican Deputy Economy Secretary Carlos Arce told the government news agency Notimex that the massive effect the explosions are having on business could threaten the country's foreign investment.
``Investment likes silence, not stridency,'' Arce said. ``Not to mention gas pipeline explosions.''
Direct foreign investment rose in the first half of 2007 to US$13.2 billion (euro9.5 billion), a 53 percent jump from the first half of 2006.
The Revolutionary People's Army, or EPR, a secretive Marxist group that killed dozens of police and soldiers during attacks in the late 1990s, claimed responsibility for the explosions in a statement posted to a Web site that has hosted similar communiques from the group in the past.
The government warned of threats to robust foreign investment in Mexico, which doubled during the first half of 2007 compared with the same 2006 period.
The impact of six explosions early Monday on a dozen pipelines, all but one carrying natural gas, is greater on business than was initially estimated, said Miguel Maron, president of one of the country's two main manufacturing chambers, on W Radio.
On Tuesday, the day that both Volkswagen AG and Chrysler LLC announced factory shutdowns because of the loss of natural gas, officials estimated business losses at about US$100 million (euro72 million) a day.
The business sectors most affected are steel makers, which halted more than 60 percent of their production, and auto, cement, glass and food manufacturers.
Mexican Deputy Economy Secretary Carlos Arce told the government news agency Notimex that the massive effect the explosions are having on business could threaten the country's foreign investment.
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``Investment likes silence, not stridency,'' Arce said. ``Not to mention gas pipeline explosions.''
Direct foreign investment rose in the first half of 2007 to US$13.2 billion (euro9.5 billion), a 53 percent jump from the first half of 2006.
The Revolutionary People's Army, or EPR, a secretive Marxist group that killed dozens of police and soldiers during attacks in the late 1990s, claimed responsibility for the explosions in a statement posted to a Web site that has hosted similar communiques from the group in the past.
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