Earnst and Young Lecture/Speaker

During our second day in Buenos Aires we attended two different business seminars, each an hour long. The first was an economist, Ivan Ordonez, who spoke about Argentina’s economy. The second presenter was from Ernst & Young, which provides advisory services and business modeling for customers. 

Sebastian Ezequiel Spena of Ernst & Young

He briefly spoke of the basics of Argentinian commerce discussing how Argentina’s economy is on the rise from where it was in the past. He then went into detail on three other topics about business in Argentina as a whole. He focused on four main points consisting of the current situation in Argentina, investments, political aspects, and the present economic situation.

The current situation in Argentina is clearly becoming better than the past. Economic growth has been on the increase but was halted when the economy crashed in recent months causing massive inflation, political instability, and social problems. Inflation has been very noticeable coming from American culture. When I spoke to Bianca about the inflation issue she said, “It is definitely a lot different looking at a restaurant menu and seeing a meal for $150. It makes me think twice about the price I’m paying as pesos are the currency here.” Even after this crisis, the majority of Latin companies survived and now are thriving.

He then spoke on investments and opportunities in Argentina. He mentioned that investment opportunities were also on the rise due to the new president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri. The new president has essentially transformed the government into a more capitalist government and lifted the controls on foreign investments allowing easier imports and exports of goods resulting in an economic boost. Because of this new capitalist government, it has opened doors for foreign and local investors. The presenter asked our group, “If you were to invest in Argentina, which aspect would invest in?”, and Griffin answered agriculture. Agriculture in Argentina is the number one export and the area in which Argentina is most competitive compared the rest of the world due to the vast farm land and fertile soil. Then Dustin raised his hand and said infrastructure. This is also an area were Argentina has a lot of potential due to unfinished buildings and abandoned shanty towns.

Bryant team with Ernst & Young team