La Jornada: Sofom, with its sights on international markets

Cancún, QR., Multiple purpose financial companies (Sofom) in Mexico have followed different paths to obtain financing: from the capital of their shareholders to development banks, and now international markets – both debt and capital – are the last territory to conquer.

This was stated by executives from the non-banking financial sector during the panel “From opportunity to capital: how to connect Mexico with international investment”, within the framework of the 20th Asofom National Convention.

Hugo Heredia, general director of Afix Financiera, asked what certainty Mexico can offer to international capital and how attractive the Sofom sector is for that market.

Julio César Martínez, vice president of private capital investments at the Fund of Funds, said that the country has a competitive platform compared to other nations in the region and has resources, including energy, which is why he in turn asked why this money does not reach the sector with force.

Juan Recio, senior vice president of foreign exchange for Latin America at StoneX, said that foreign capital is channeled into sectors with development opportunities in order to mitigate risks for investors coming from outside.

This work, he said, has been concentrated in structural sectors, where it has been necessary to establish metrics that allow the risk to be contained before channeling resources.

Armando Simón, leading investment and financial sector executive for Mexico and Central America at IDB Invest, said that the interest of multilateral organizations in Mexico is relevant. However, the priority of these institutions is to obtain a better risk-adjusted return, compared to what other markets in Latin America and Asia offer. He pointed out that there are enough opportunities in the sector to bet on them.

Martínez pointed out that trust is the starting point of any foreign investment. Transparency in the way each institution operates, he said, is what makes it viable to attract capital.

He added that training gaps persist in the banking system that must be closed so that the sector can advance as a whole.

For his part, Recio highlighted that the lack of information usually causes poor performance of the funds that receive capital, especially when these resources come from family sources and are not accompanied by clear reporting processes.