Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that there is no crisis between Brazil and Bolivia. Lula said that Bolivia can not impose its sovereign decision over Brazil. The fact that Bolivians have rights does not deny Brazilian rights, he said. Lula is expected to meet his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales on May 4, to discuss the impact of Bolivia's decision to nationalise its gas fields gas fields .Venezuelan and Argentinean Presidents Hugo Chavez and Nestor Kirchner will also attend. Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Monday that foreign private companies should give his government majority stakes in the Bolivian gas industry, and that the state should decide who could buy gas and at what price.
The Bank of Thailand announced that the Bath has stabilised and would not need any intervention. Its announcement came following reports that the central bank had intervened in the forex market following the Baht's recent appreciation against the US dollar. In April, the Thai Baht strengthened to 37.5 against the US dollar, a six-year high. However, with the ongoing political uncertainties in the country, the Baht has remained relatively weak, compared to other currencies in the region.
Mexican bank performance improved last year, mainly boosted by the country’s economic stability, specifically low and stable inflation levels and interest rates. The Mexican banking sector has recently benefited from recovered demand for credit too, Fitch Ratings said in a report. Credit in Mexico’s banking system grew by 25% last year, driven by consumer and mortgage loans.
The Latvian state has decided not to sell its telecommunication company Lattelekom to Swedish telecom group TeliaSonera. TeliaSonera will be offered 100% ownership of mobile phone operator Latvijas Mobilais Telefons in return for its shares in Lattelekom. Aigars Stokenbergs, Minister of Economy said the main question was financial compensation for Latvia on top of getting the 49% of Lattelekom shares owned by TeliaSonera.
According to a recent survey, 87% of Poles believe that countries giving employment to foreigners profit from immigration and 70% of Poles treat working abroad as unfortunate necessity. This viewpoint is shared mostly by people interested in politics and economy. More than 60% think the Polish government does nothing to encourage Poles to stay in the country.
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced that the average non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of domestic banks dropped to 3.28% in March compared to 4% a month earlier. Taiwanese banks have reported a 37% decline in profitability for the first quarter of 2006 compared to the same period last year. FSC attributed the decline in profits to the banks' decision to write off bad loans, which also contributed to the decline in NPL ratio.