Uribe expressed his optimism about Wal-Mart's investment. "This will enable the corporation to provide a larger assortment, better service and prices to consumers in Central America," he said.
"The improvements we anticipate in this company will further strengthen the economy of the region," Uribe said. He noted that during 2006, Wal-Mart Central America plans to invest in building new stores and remodeling existing facilities. More than 6,000 jobs are expected to be created in the next two years in order to meet the personnel needs of this new store program.
Paiz emphasized that Wal-Mart Central America will stimulate the export of products grown or manufactured in the region. An example of this is a recent agreement signed for shipment of pineapples from Costa Rica to Wal-Mart stores in the United States, and other export agreements are under development, Paiz said.
Currently Wal-Mart directly imports more than $350 million in goods from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In addition, Wal- Mart purchases goods from many suppliers with farms and factories in Central America.
In September 2005, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. acquired a 33 1/3 percent interest in CARHCO NV, the leading supermarket and hypermarket chain in Central America. The name was changed to Wal-Mart Central America in March 2006 when Wal-Mart increased its ownership to 51 percent.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. It operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
marketing@alchempro.com
