Capital Markets

The development of Peru’s capital markets continues apace, driven by the growing number of increasingly sophisticated local institutional investors. Though the Lima Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Lima, BVL) started 2014 off poorly, with stock prices falling significantly on the gradual withdrawal of monetary stimulus by the US Federal Reserve and the effect of geopolitical tensions surrounding the conflict in the Ukraine, it began showing signs of recovery in the second quarter. The Federal Reserve’s decision to postpone interest rate hikes, along with a further cut to interest rates by the European Central Bank and the announcement of economic stimulus measures by the Peruvian Ministry of Finance, helped produce a rally in the market. Mining, banking and utilities were the strongest performers on the BVL in the first nine months of 2014. The long-awaited IPO of state oil firm Petroperú, expected in 2015, is the big prize financiers are looking for to accelerate the development of the equities market.

This chapter contains interviews with Christian Laub, President, Lima Stock Exchange (BVL) and José Antonio Blanco, CEO, BTG Pactual.