Why 2014 Could Be Mexico's Year: Experts have proclaimed the country the next big thing before. This time maybe different

摘要

LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME investors were rushing into Mexico. A new President with an ambitious reform to-do list had just taken office. And the largest IPO in Mexican history, the $4 billion offering of Spanish bank Santander's Mexican division had just taken place. To listen to the government, 2013 would elevate Mexico to an economic powerhouse. But the new administration pinched pennies and GDP growth slowed to just 1%, a fraction of 2013 expectations. By December, stocks were down 4% and many investors seemed to give up hope. "They felt Mexico's moment was slipping," says David M. Darst, chief investment strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, who spent much of the past two years on the ground in Mexico studying the country's prospects.