According to Eduardo Aninat, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund, Latin America is still attracting investment capital in spite of these factors. And prospects look adequate, at the present, for a somewhat higher level this year. Even so, the region still has a long way to go. The roundtable brought together experts from the Western Hemisphere and Europe, from both the public and private sectors, to generate ideas on how to ignite Latin America's capital markets once again and thereby stimulate the development process. Aninat and other participants suggested varied and at times even divergent solutions, but they agreed that a concerted effort by both the public and private sectors is needed to help Latin America adapt to new technologies, trends, and regulatory systems that have transformed capital markets in the industrialized world.
New technologies present new challenges.
Other experts warned of the challenges of competing in an increasingly complex global environment. Issuers will raise capital whenever it is cheapest, and investors will invest their money wherever it is most profitable and transaction costs are low. They built a market tailored to the needs of clients and intermediaries by embedding the concept of price-time priority for orders entered onto the exchange's order book, while still allowing for a flexible upstairs trading regime. Gilberto Mifano, CEO of Bovespa, said that the ingredients for a successful securities market are a healthy macroeconomic environment, a proper legal and regulatory framework, good infrastructure, and efficient and reliable clearance and settlement systems. Investors are willing to pay more for better corporate governance.