MIAMI, Oct. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Carso,
one of Latin America's most
important conglomerates, was named as Latin Trade's Investor of the
Year at its 2012 Bravo Business Awards.
"At a very young age I realized the importance of how business
can positively impact society by generating employment and the
responsibility that business leaders have in helping solve some of
the most complex social problems," Grupo
Carso Chairman of the Board Carlos Slim Domit said. "This is
part of our company's philosophy; we are temporary administrators
of wealth who must be efficient and also help achieve positive
social impact."
The Slim companies employ about 260,000 people through direct
jobs, and an estimated four times that number in indirect jobs.
Working in 30 countries, the group makes between $11 billion and $12 billion in overall capital
investments each year.
In Mexican telecommunications alone, Slim enterprises have
invested $105 billion dollars and
make new capital outlays of about $2
billion each year. In 1991, for example, Telcel, an
America Movil company, had 35,000
customers - one third of the cell phone market in Mexico.
With its innovative development of the prepaid model and heavy
investment in coverage, capacity and adoption of new technologies,
Telcel grew faster than the competition. Today, America Movil provides service in 180,000
communities while the closest competitor serves only 80,000.
America Movil is the world's
4th largest telecommunications operator by subscribers of its
different services.
"Innovations in Mexico and
Latin American telecommunications can lead to important growth in
mobile and broadband adoption," Slim Domit said. "That growth
fundamentally changes the economic landscape and opens up worldwide
opportunities for citizens."
Slim Domit pointed out that while the group makes investments
outside Mexico, it uses capital
markets so as not to sacrifice capital outlays in Mexican
projects.
"We have a system that focuses on finding new ideas, updating
processes and IT systems and training people," he said. "It is
important for us to always know what is happening in the industry,
what is happening internationally and keeping in close contact with
our customers."
About Grupo Carso
Grupo Carso is a Mexico-based conglomerate engaged, through its
subsidiaries, in the industrial, retail, infrastructure and
construction sectors, as well as in the automotive industry. Its
business is structured in four divisions: Industrial, which
comprises the operations of Grupo Condumex SA de CV, a manufacturer
of electrical conductors mainly used in the telecommunications,
automotive and energy sectors; Retail, which includes the
activities of Grupo Sanborns SA de CV, an owner of department
stores, restaurants, boutiques and music shops; and Infrastructure
and Construction, which focuses on the operations of Carso
Infraestructura y Construccion SAB de CV (CICSA), involved in the
development of activities related to the installation of pipelines,
services for the chemical and petroleum industry, building
projects, civil engineering and homebuilding.
About America Movil
America Movil is the leading wireless services provider in
Latin America and the
world's fourth largest mobile network operator by
subscribers of its various service offerings. A venture
of Carlos Slim, America Movil
provides services to over 319 million mobile subscribers in 18
directly served countries.
About 18th Annual Bravo Business Awards
Every year, hundreds of thousands of LATIN TRADE readers worldwide
nominate a broad array of Latin American leaders in government,
business, finance and technology, as well as mavericks in
environmental and humanitarian fields. The LATIN TRADE editorial
team narrows the list of candidates, consulting with international
executives, government officials and leading academics. Finally,
the editors whittle down the list of finalists and chose the
recipients of the BRAVO Business
Awards for their leadership and their contributions to progress in
Latin America.
Now celebrating its 18th anniversary, the BRAVO Business Awards event will attract 400
leaders–including presidents, business executives and government
ministers from across the Americas in the fall of 2012 in
Miami. The celebration culminates
with a black-tie gala to honor the 2012 BRAVO Business Awards
winners for their contributions to progress in Latin America and the Caribbean.
SOURCE Grupo Carso