FORGING OPPORTUNITIES WITH CARLOS SLIM'S GRUPO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 001609

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/IFD/OIA, WHA/EPSC AND WHA/MEX
COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/NAFTA ANDREW RUDMAN
STATE PASS USAID FOR ROBERT KAHN
TREASURY FOR IA MEXICO DESK - JASPER HOEK
USDOC FOR 3134/USFCS/OIO/RD/WH/MKESHISHIAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECIN ECON EIND EINV ENRG MX
SUBJECT: FORGING OPPORTUNITIES WITH CARLOS SLIM'S GRUPO
CARSO



1. SUMMARY. The Ambassador hosted a breakfast March 16 with
CEOs from various divisions of Mexican mogul Carlos Slim's
Grupo Carso to discuss how the U.S. Mission in Mexico can
assist U.S. companies (particularly small- and medium-sized
companies) in entering the Mexican market, and form alliances
with Grupo Carso companies in particular. Many Grupo Carso
companies do business throughout Latin America and could
provide a jumping off point for U.S. companies into the
region. The CEOs expressed a strong willingness to work with
U.S. companies and provided an array of suggestions of how to
create these relationships instead of using the traditional
trade show format. The group provided a unique look into the
breadth of projects that Grupo Carso is involved in,
demonstrating the scope of potential opportunities for U.S.
businesses. END SUMMARY.

THE PLAYERS
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2. Ambassador Garza hosted a breakfast March 16 for Daniel
Hajj, CEO of Telcel and America Movil; Jose Foncerrada,
Director General of Grupo Financiero Inbursa; Armando
Rimoldi, Director General of Swecomex; and Alfonso Salem,
Director General of IDEAL. The Ambassador began the
discussions by stating that competitiveness will continue to
be an issue in Mexico regardless of who wins the upcoming
presidential elections, and U.S. companies, including many
small- and medium-size companies, could bring innovative
technologies and products that could help members of Grupo
Carso become more competitive and help U.S. companies enter
the Mexican and Latin markets. FCS highlighted a recent
event it organized for PEMEX officials visiting the U.S. as a
possible model for cooperation with Grupo Carso executives.
FCS Mexico and the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Houston
presented a conference on PEMEX's development and procurement
plans to over 100 U.S. suppliers of innovative technologies
in the energy sector. FCS also put forward executive
roundtables it has developed in conjunction with the Business
Council for International Understanding (BCIU) as a vehicle
for U.S. companies to better understand how to work with the
various entities that comprise the group.

GRUPO CARSO
--------------


3. Grupo Carso is one of the largest conglomerates in Latin
America. It controls and operates a diversified group of
companies involved in retail, industrial and consumer goods.
The group integrates companies like CONDUMEX, a global
manufacturer of products for the telecommunication,
construction, energy and automotive industries; NACOBRE which
produces copper, aluminum and PVC products; and Frisco which
itself comprises a railroad, chemical and mining division.
Other companies include Telmex, Telcel, America Movil
(cellular and regular telephone lines, distribution and
operation of Mexico's largest telephone company); Grupo
Financiero Inbursa (Financial Group); Swecomex (oil and gas
industry),IDEAL (engineering, architecture and construction
company for hospitals, schools, shopping centers, roads,
ports, airports etc.) and CILSA (potable and wastewater
treatment plants).

DABBLING IN VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING
--------------


4. Collectively, the members of Grupo Carso are involved in
virtually every aspect of infrastructure development. Salem
mentioned that IDEAL has begun bidding on and receiving
contracts for schools, hospitals, and jails, particularly in
the border region, and would like to become involved in
tourism development in the booming Puerto Penasco area of
Sonora. Several of the attendees spoke of using a new
program in Mexico where the government leases an
infrastructure project for a set time period. The leasee
agrees to construct the infrastructure and maintain it for a
certain number of years before it is returned to the
government. The government completes periodic audits to
determine if the lease shall continue or if the lease should
be terminated.

NEW FORMS OF CONTACT
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5. Hajj explained that trade shows are not the best

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mechanism for U.S and Mexican companies to discuss
opportunities for partnerships due to the size of the shows
and diversity of participants. He offered to set up meetings
in Mexico for any U.S. company that wanted to discuss forming
a relationship with the America Movil. FCS asked, given each
company's breadth of operations, that they identify sectors
or areas where they believe that U.S. companies had the best
opportunity to form agreements with them and that FCS would
work to set up meetings with companies in these sectors.

COMMENT
--------------


6. All of the Grupo Carso companies were quite willing to
explore how they can forge relationships with U.S.
corporations. One company had employees traveling to New York
the next week and began making calls while leaving the
breakfast in order to arrange meetings for their employees
with FCS contacts while in the U.S. The breadth of projects
undertaken by Grupo Carso offers a myriad of opportunities
for U.S. companies of all sizes. FCS has already initiated
follow up activities with Grupo Carso including: soliciting
a formal invitation from BCIU to America Movil CEO Daniel
Hajj to participate in a CEO roundtable event; promoting U.S.
based Engineering Oil and Gas Exploration companies as
strategic partners with SWECOMEX and a scheduled meeting with
executives from IDEAL to discuss FCS support for an upcoming
visit to New York to meet with finance organizations.


Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity

GARZA