Grupo Carso Honored as Latin Trade's Investor of the Year

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 18^th 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