creiZ about Real Estate and Deals

Jumeirah signs deal for luxury hotel in Panama - Travel & Hospitality - ArabianBusiness.com

Interesting news. Panama's still got much potential for hospitality. Congrats Los Faros!

Tags: panama, losfaros, jumeirah, hospitality, hotel

Posted by eMarv at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

“Markets experiencing a generational correction offer as many opportunities as threats,” explains Jacques Gordon, global strategist at LaSalle Investment Management, an independent unit of Jones Lang LaSalle. “For investors with capital and the confidence to look through the downturn, 2009 will provide some fantastic opportunities. The strategic approach is to distinguish between the assets that are genuinely attractively priced and those that should be even cheaper.”

With $50 billion of assets under management for institutional investors, the Chicago-based firm points to at least four key investment opportunity plays this year:

• REIT shares trading at a massive discount;
• units in limited partnership funds trading at steep discounts;
• non-performing loans or pools of partially performing loans;
• defaulted land deals or development deals in need of recapitalization, but priced such that investors get incomplete improvements at close to zero cost.

Beyond the Downturn: Opportunities Await Institutional Investors

Tags: opportunisticinvestments, npl, non-performing loans, partially performing loans, panama, development, defaulted land deals, distressed properties

Posted by eMarv at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Panamanian President Martin Torrijos said his country will maintain high levels of growth and a low jobless rate next year even as the credit crisis triggers a worldwide economic slowdown.

The Central American country’s economy will probably expand between 6.5 percent and 8 percent in 2009 and 9 percent this year, Torrijos said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today in Panama City. The U.S. recession won’t impede financing for his government’s $5.2 billion project to expand the Panama Canal, he said.

Just saw this on Bloomberg: Bloomberg.com: Latin America

Think now is a time to invest in Panama?

Tags: panama, econmiccrisis, martin torrijos, growth, panama hotels

Posted by eMarv at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I ran across this article from WashingtonTimesGlobal.com and thought it would be of interest. Here's an excerpt:

In addition to the hundreds of investment opportunities generated by the expansion project of the Panama Canal and the expanding logistics center, the growth in the tourism industry is resulting in numerous investment opportunities in related services and accommodations. These options are made more attractive by special government incentives, which include the Special Tourism Zones Law that offers incentives such as a 100 percent exemption from income tax, real estate tax, import duties for construction materials and equipment, and other taxes.

Continue reading "Now is the time to invest in tourism products and services in Panama - from WashingtonTimesGlobal.com" »

Comments Welcome!

Posted by eMarv at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bookmark This (Add to Digg, del.icio.us, reddit and others)
View blog reactions

In case you haven't seen Warren Buffett's op-ed piece on NYTimes.com, here it is: Op-Ed Contributor - Warren Buffett - Buy American. I Am. - NYTimes.com

Here are some excerpts from the piece (written in first person by Buffett) with emphasis added on statements I especially like:

Why [is Buffett buying American]?

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.

A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.

...

You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.

Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.

Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities.

I know, I know, he has a vested interest in equities, but still Warren's awesome and he always has quotables!

Tags: warrenbuffett, wayne gretzky, buy american, quotables, equities, stocks, stock market, financial crisis

Posted by eMarv at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Make sure you take a look at RaiseCapital.com

It is an online community where entrepreneurs can showcase their business ideas and capital needs, posting a text description, pictures and/or a video presentation of their venture and where investors can find dynamic, local, regional or nationwide investment opportunities with ease.

NOTE: I have not used the service personally, but I have referred others to the site. It is more geared towards raising ideally (IMO) under $1 million. If you are looking to raise a few million in funds for real estate or other projects, let me know.

BTW, please share any RaiseCapital.com success stories. Let us know if you've had better luck than our friends...

Tags: angelfinancing, Angel investor, private financing, start up capital, venture capital, fundraising

Posted by eMarv at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Treasury Announces Solicitations for Financial Agents under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

I just read through the Treasury solicitation announcement for financial agents for their soon-to-be-acquired distressed assets and the distressed asset sales and here are some interesting tidbits (with my comments in red):

Any additional thoughts or insights on this?

BTW, I bet whoever is selected will surely be busy addressing calls or emails from "brokers" (with "prominent" yahoo email addresses) who are "working with direct buyer mandates to invest billions of dollars." (Some of you know what I'm talking about... :)

Tags: treasurydepartment, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, distressed assets, distressed asset sales, opportunisti investments, goldman sachs, citigroup, financial agents

Posted by eMarv at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. Make sure you are a billion dollar company like GE.
2. Offer a great deal to a billionaire investor, like Warren Buffett, so that he can invest a few billion.
3. Hire a leading fundraiser, like Goldman Sachs, that the billionaire has already invested a few billion in.
4. Add 2 cups of investors that invest in what Buffett invests and give them a decent discount and
5. Voila! The recipe for a few billion!

If this doesn't work, you may want to try Guy's Plan B for fundraising. :)

Below's the link to the original story from Bloomberg. Enjoy!

GE Share Sale Raises $12.2 Billion at 9.2% Discount

Have other recipes for success? Please share.

Tags: fundraising, raisinga billion, ge, warren buffett, goldman sachs, recipe for success

Posted by eMarv at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

True to his methodology, Warren Buffett is buying when others are selling and getting great deals. First, by investing $5 billion in Goldman Sachs and now by investing $3 billion in GE. He is THE MAN! Anyone have a spare billion to buy some distressed debt? (I'd like to see what kind of fundraising commission the fundraisers are receiving.)

Tags: warrenbuffett, goldman sachs, ge, general electric, fundraising

Posted by eMarv at 08:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had the great opportunity to meet a couple of gentlemen regarding a public transportation (infrastructure) project in Panama City. (Unfortunately, I can't go into to many details at the moment.) I really think the project would be a great asset to the City because there would be a more efficient system to transport people that unfortunately are being priced out of the City, but still work there.

The gentlemen and I are preparing an executive summary for the project for presentation to infrastructure funds where we'll highlight the following areas:

• Why Panama? (macroeconomics)
• Why public transportation in Panama?
• Why this specific method of transportation?
• Who is the competition?
• Does the government support this effort? If so, how so?
• What is the revenue source?/How will revenue be derived?
• What is the timeline? What is the construction timeframe?
• What is the return on investment?
• What is the management team's experience with this type of project?

We will have the executive summary ready by Monday, September, 15, 2008 in order to forward it on to a UK infrastructure fund I have spoken with already.

Know of any other groups that could have an interest?

Any suggestions on working with infrastructure funds?

Tags: infrastructurefunds, panama infrastructure project, panama public transportation, projet executive summary, why panama, panametro, uk infrastructure fund, ppp, public private partnerships

Posted by eMarv at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)