SECTIONS
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NEWS
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 Maquilador decree expected for May
Export maquiladora industry expects the Ministry of the Economy will publish within this month in the Federation's Official Gazette the new decree for this industrial sector, said...
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Mexico could grow 7.0% with reforms: WB
Mexico would reach annual growth rates of up to 7% of GDP if political will to expand social programs is combined with structural reforms, the President of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, said.
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Maquila spends 18% more
In the last year, monthly expenditures by maquiladora industry in the City grew 18.21%, according to a report by the Mexican statistics agency, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI).
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Korean businessmen interested in investing in Coahuila
Torreon, Coahuila - Korean companies are interested in establishing in Coahuila's Comarca Lagunera, informed the regional representative of the State Government's Ministry for Economic Foster, Alfredo Mafud Kaim.
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Industrial market recovers in Nuevo Leon
Mexico City - Upon closing the last quarter of 2005, the number of square feet of industrial buildings and warehouses for sale o lease inside the six industrial corridors dropped 11.2% when compared to the same term the previous years, according to a report by Colliers International.
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Maquiladoras grow 2.4% in February
Mexico City - Last February, personnel occupied by manufacturing
sectors had no changes, while that in export maquiladora industry
had a 2.4% growth when compared to the same month the previous year,
according to figures by the Mexican Statistics Agency (Instituto
Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática INEGI).
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Value of auto-parts production grows almost 21%
Mexican auto-parts industry, which is leader in the automotive industry in the generation of jobs and profit, reached a production value in January of US$2.156 billion, which represents a growth of almost 21% when compared to the same term the previous year.
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ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
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| Towards Knowledge Economy |
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By Samuel Peña Guzman
Foreign Investment Coordinator of Nuevo Leon
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 The more we get into a global world and try to approach developed economies, the more we head for a knowledge based economy. Maybe somebody would ask, where are we heading for when we speak about "knowledge based economy"?
For some states in Mexico, knowledge economy is the next assertive step to advance to the "next stage" within a country's and/or state economic policies. For developed countries, knowledge based economy is not only the central axis for their economies, but it is even encouraged with incentives granted to research and development, let alone education.
Unfortunately, in Mexico there are still very few cases when incentives are granted for research and development. As a matter of fact, according to recent studies, Mexico is still way behind those countries where investment in research is high, and some of those countries are even considered emerging countries, such as South Korea, India, China, Singapore or Taiwan that have taken a huge lead before us. Those countries are practically Mexico's main competitors for foreign direct investment.
Their economic policies are not only more aggressive than ours, but the incentives for investors that carry out research and development projects are larger than those we grant, considering the number of projects and the amounts of investment.
 In Mexico, despite some states advancing towards a knowledge based economy, there is still a huge difference with those states in southern Mexico. This means that, in terms of development, regrettably Mexico has not experienced the same advancement everywhere, there is a marked difference in some states, mainly the southern states when compared to states in the north.
Knowledge based economy grounds its growth in the population's education level and in giving value added to assembled and manufactured products. Even if there is still a significant presence of maquiladora and manufacturing companies, little by little, though rather slowly, the number of foreign companies which projects include research and development centers is being increased; while this type of projects were previously "unthinkable" to be developed in Mexico or in a developing country like ours. Even if CONACYT (Mexican Science and Technology Council) has increased the support granted to the companies that are considering research and development products, states still need more resources to give incentives to this kind of projects, otherwise, we will practically continue being at the mercy of federal funds channeled through CONACYT and some mixed funds with state governments that are still scarce and insufficient for investment projects. Fiscal laws grant some deductions, it would be convenient to increase deductions as additional incentives.
 Changing from manufacturing culture to "mind-nufacturing" will undoubtedly take time; however, public policies on this issue must be aimed towards encouraging study, research and development. In paragraphs above we discussed education levels in the population in northern Mexico. That is precisely the main difference with southern Mexico. Knowledge based economy starts precisely with incentives aimed for education, research and development. Both public and private schools and universities will be essential elements of the effort shared by the state and the civil society to increase the population's education level and fighting the education lag we suffer.
No sustained development can be achieved by a state when said development is not supported by the country's education institutions. It is precisely at schools and universities where students are trained and taken into a new knowledge culture. They will be tomorrow's assets.
In conclusion, knowledge based economy is to be established as a "modus vivendi"; however, for the time being the "modus operandi" is implemented within public policies of some Mexican states. It is to be mentioned that in some states, in virtue of the educational lag and therefore knowledge lag, implementing this knowledge culture will take longer. It is our duty as Mexicans and in some cases as public officers to make this happen. This means attenuating and fighting as much as possible the educational lag in order to pave the way for this new knowledge-based development strategy.
Hector Samuel Peña LL.M, MPA Currently works as a Foreign Investment Coordinator for the State Government of Nuevo León, he has LLM Masters in Law from American University, Washington, College of Law, and a Masters in Public Administration from the George Washington University and has advised foreign companies who are expanding operations in to Mexico. He is also a professor at the State University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico and a Member of the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales COMEXI.
The point of view is strictly from the author and does not represent the vision on any of the author institutions relationships.
He can be reached at: samuel.pena@mexicoglobal.com
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MEXICO'S WEEKLY HEADLINES
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| » Mexico keeps its attractiveness for investors |
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| » Behr comes to Saltillo, Coahuila |
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| » Mexico will grow a 3.6% this year: Bancomer |
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| » Pascual Boing invests in Acuña, Coahuila |
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| » Manufacturing production grows 6.2% in January |
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MAY
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