hsbc will stay in mexico

hsbc ceo stuart gulliver announced last week that his bank would sell its units in brazil and turkey.

stuart gulliver hsbc
hsbc ceo stuart gulliver

the news was reported around the world, and the question on many people’s minds here in mexico was the same as the headline for this article by katy barnato on the financial news website cnbc.com

Why does HSBC like Mexico but want to quit Brazil?

stuart gulliver looked at this picture & remembered the good times. ain’t no way we can quit u, mexico. (edgard garrido,reuters)

according to the article, gulliver told investors

mexico [is] “on the cusp of a major take-off” thanks to energy reforms introduced by controversial president enrique peña nieto.

on the cusp of means close. the expression is usually used to refer to the arrival of something positive.

more detail about peña nieto’s role was included

peña nieto has delivered on his legislative pledges, including measures to end the state’s monopoly over energy and open the telecommunications sector to competition, breaking the stronghold of billionaire carlos slim over the industry.

pledges are strong promises. stronghold is a place of strength. click here to hear the correct pronunciation for billionaire (the e at the end is silent).

the strongholds
steve and josie stronghold aka the commander and jetstream from the movie sky high

president peña nieto has promoted energy reform since taking office in 2012. the most important component of the reform is pemex (mexican petroleum), the petroleum company that has been run by the mexican government since president lazaro cardenas expropriated the nation’s oil reserves in 1938.

pena nieto cardenas hsbc
the man who nationalized mexican petroleum & the man who will open it up to foreign investment

barnato reported

july should bring the auction of the first set of mexican oil fields up for grabs, ending the decades-long monopoly

up for grabs means available, and indicates there will be various groups interested in exploiting the newly available mexican petroleum. auction indicates that the business will go to the highest bidder, like on ebay, deremate.com or mercadolibre.com

wedding bouquet up for grabs
the bridal bouquet is up for grabs (brides.com)

marc chandler, head of currency strategy at brown brothers harriman, mentioned these positive points about mexico’s economy

a respectable pace of economic growth coupled with low inflation

and

depreciation of the peso, which has boosted the country’s competitiveness and seen the currency tumble

pace means speed or rate. boost means help or increasetumble means fall, usually in a spectacular way.

beckham took a tumble
david beckham took a serious tumble on this kick. (reuters)

finally, hsbc isn’t the only transnational bank that has a chance to benefit from mexico’s economic potential

another european beneficiary of a booming mexico could be spanish bank bbva. mexico represents 40 percent of its earnings

earnings are money made from work or investments. earn and earner (also used in the cnbc article) are related.

online poker

it is correct to say that u win money playing poker on-line, but it is incorrect to say u win a  $70,000  annual salary.

if spanish is your first language, it’s natural to translate, for example, the question cuánto ganas por mes? as how much do you win a month?  DON’T DO IT!! win is for money made from gambling.

fun elt practice  richyrocks english on youtube

how do u feel about hsbc staying in mexico? hsbc leaving brazil?  mexico’s energy reform? share your opinions under leave a reply


 

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