Pandenomics podcast Ep. 13: Why the Pacific Alliance is poised for a post-pandemic boom

James Neate, Scotiabank’s President and Group Head of Corporate and Investment Banking, discusses how commodities are fuelling the region’s economic recovery.

Growing demand for copper, oil and other commodities will help to fuel the Pacific Alliance’s economic recovery, says Scotiabank’s President and Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking James Neate. The export-driven region – comprised of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru – is poised to benefit from the recovery in the US and China as well, he added. “They're showing a lot of promise in terms of export activity,” Neate said.

In the latest episode of Pandenomics – our podcast series looking at the impact of COVID-19 on the economy – Neate talks about the growth prospects of the Pacific Alliance countries as they emerge from the pandemic.

He notes that the Pacific Alliance governments have done a very good job managing the overall pandemic, with disciplined lockdowns, and limiting the impact on the local economies.

These governments have also kept their debt-to-GDP levels quite low, leaving them a lot of "dry gun powder” to help their economies recover, Neate added.

Coupled with the region’s underlying fundamentals, including an emerging middle class and disciplined central banks, these dynamics bode well for the region’s growth prospects, he noted.

“This region affords a tremendous amount of torque,” Neate said. “And as these economies begin to emerge from the pandemic, I see so much underlying growth potential, leveraging off the solid economic financial base that they currently have right now.”