Miami, June 30, 2021 -- There are signs of recovery in the market for Premium offices in Latin American cities with less than two million inhabitants. This is a relevant finding of the World Trade Center (WTC) Prime Office Index Latam, released in June by the business publication Latin Trade. The Index covers 21 large, medium and small cities in the region. 

The Index shows that the price per square foot on sales of prime office space in cities under 2 million like Monterrey and Montevideo, exceeds $280, a clear indication of lack of inventory.

At the same time, leases for Premium Offices in those cities will exceed $1.68 per square foot by the end of the year, an additional sign that there is room to increase supply.

The study also showed that the time needed to close the sale of Premium office space in Latin America increased this year and will increase a more in the remainder of 2021. However, rental prices will not fall. This is also reinforces the idea that the phase of falling demand and lower prices bottomed out in 2021.

Finally, the expectations indicator of the WTC Prime Office Index Latam was -19% in June 2021. This confirms an improvement in expectations compared the -32% in December 2020.

The WTC Prime Office Index Latam is built around an opinion survey with experts in the construction and brokerage of Class A offices in cities ranging in size from São Paulo and Mexico City to Colonia del Sacramento and Punta del Este.

Innovation

Innovation will be a key condition for success in the Premium office market. Some of the new World Trade Centers are setting new standards in this realm. 

WTC Montevideo recently inaugurated a second tower which is located in the city's free-trade zone. It was built as a niche player, specializing in service-exporting companies. The building also houses spaces for co-working and startups.

WTC Nuevo Laredo, which will begin construction in the coming months, will be characterized as a technological-logistics cluster. It will host the headquarters of the Mexican Institute of Logistics; a technology park; an innovation and entrepreneurship district; and a nanotechnology and biotechnology research and development center. It will also have some traditional WTC amenities, such as hotels, a conventions, business club and areas of medical and financial
services. The planned investment is $145 million.

WTC Goiânia, located in the most important city for Brazilian agribusiness, was conceived around a concept that will change the combination of living spaces, work, commerce, and social relationships. The two towers will mix a hotel, offices, apartments, commercial areas (a 2,635-square-meters shopping mall), and meeting spaces including a convention center.

“The work-life balance has changed significantly, with people returning to the office, albeit with caution. Commercial properties are recalibrating and redefining the purpose of their spaces. Purposes such as health, sustainability, connectivity. This is where the World Trade Center continues to be a great differentiator: state-of-the-art facilities that are part of a hyper-connected global community, present in nearly 100 countries, ”said Robin van Puyenbroeck, Executive Director-Business Development of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA).

View the full report here: https://latintrade.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/WTCA-JUL-21-ENG.pdf

About Latin Trade

Latin Trade is a niche publication that covers business in Latin America with
its magazine and a portfolio of digital channels. Founded in Miami 27 years ago, it focuses on analyzing the trends shaping the business environment in the region.

About the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)

The WTCA is the association that brings together World Trade Centers around the world. It stimulates trade and investment opportunities for property developers, economic development agencies and international businesses to connect globally and prosper locally. In Latin America, licenses have been granted for the development of World Trade Centers in 51 cities.

Key Takeaways

- Signs of recovery in some Premium office markets in Latin America.
- Results of the World Trade Center Prime Office Index Latam 2021, which calculated the business publication Latin Trade.

New York, NY (May 10, 2021) — The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) — an international trade organization connecting more than 300 World Trade Centers (WTCs) in nearly 100 countries — today announced the launch of its new global WTCA “Trade Wins” Podcast. The podcast will offer intriguing conversation and insights on upcoming trends in the global trade sector from leading experts to help businesses around the world navigate today’s changing environment.

“For each episode, we will convene engaging conversations that will not only educate, but inspire our global community of WTCs and constituents active across all industries and sectors,” stated Robin van Puyenbroeck, WTCA Executive Director-Business Development and host of the podcast. “We will speak with leaders from business, government, academia, media and international organizations, as well as our very own WTCA members from around the world. And together, we will discuss and dissect the most pertinent news, trends and strategies that are having the greatest impact on our future.”

Available today are the trailer titled “Welcome to Trade Wins by the WTCA,” and the first two episodes of the podcast:

• “Global Trade at a Turning Point with Dr. Peter Rajsingh” features the educator and asset manager discussing how the world is experiencing a transformation towards digital globalization, and how key fundamentals of trade such as notions of competitive advantage, freedom, and mitigating surpluses and deficits are put under pressure.
• “Making Impact with Real Life Diplomacy with Ambassador Thomas Lambert” features the Belgian ambassador to Luxembourg’s informed take on conducting international diplomacy during COVID-19; international trade, economic policy, and multilateralism; and his work while serving as ambassador in the United States.

“The WTCA ‘Trade Wins’ Podcast is a thought-provoking platform for critical conversations about the global trade infrastructure,” continued van Puyenbroeck. “From our recent General Assembly, we learned that global trade infrastructure reform is much needed, and that companies should have a voice and be part of this conversation to develop more inclusive global trade to shape a better future.”

As part of the podcast’s launch, the association is hosting a book giveaway. The first 250 people to subscribe and send an email to podcast@wtca.org will receive a free e-book copy of “Enough About Me” by Richard Lui, filmmaker, author and anchor at NBC/MSNBC, who recently addressed the 2021 WTCA General Assembly on the topic of “Selflessness, Community and Building a Stronger Business.”

The podcast will continue many of the captivating virtual conversations that were presented during the 2021 WTCA General Assembly and Business Week from April 26-30, which gathered more than 1,000 participants including representatives from 169 World Trade Centers (WTCs) and more than 570 B2B Delegates across 70 countries.

New episodes of “Trade Winds” will be released every week, and will be available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

For more information about the WTCA “Trade Wins” Podcast, please visit https://podcast.wtca.org/.

MEDIA CONTACT:

World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
Chanelle Kasik
Phone: +1 212 432 2644
Email: ckasik@wtca.org

About World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) is a network of more than 300 highly connected, mutually supporting businesses and organizations in 92 countries. As the owner of the “World Trade Center” and “WTC” trademarks, the WTCA licenses exclusive rights to these brands for Members to use in conjunction with their independently-owned, iconic properties, facilities and trade services offerings. Through a robust portfolio of events, programming and resources that it offers its Members, the goal of the WTCA is to help local economies thrive by encouraging and facilitating trade and investment across the globe through Member engagement. To learn more, visit www.wtca.org.

New York, NY (May 6, 2021) — The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) — an international trade organization connecting more than 300 World Trade Centers (WTCs) in nearly 100 countries — gathered more than 1,000 participants from 70 countries at its 2021 General Assembly (GA) and Business Week from April 26-30. Celebrating “The Power of Our Community,” the first ever virtual GA brought together 169 Member WTCs and more than 570 B2B Delegates from their global business networks consisting of leaders from business, government, academia, media and international organizations, reflecting the WTCA's diverse global footprint. Attendees participated in three days of livestream sessions featuring prominent keynote speakers and a full week of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered B2B matchmaking opportunities across all time zones.

“The COVID-19 pandemic provided us with a unique opportunity to reimagine our association’s premier global annual event and enhance its value to our members and their networks. We utilized advanced technology to enable attendees to learn from leading experts and easily connect with potential business matches around the world,” stated John E. Drew, WTCA Chair, Board of Directors. “The success of this year’s virtual GA provides a glimpse of the future of the conference and exhibition industry, and how important a global organization like the WTCA is to strengthen connections and collaborate in international trade.”

The business conference offered a series of informative fireside chats, panel discussions and presentations on topics to help attendees navigate today’s changing environment. Robin van Puyenbroeck, WTCA Executive Director-Business Development, moderated the engaging conversations with keynote speakers Feike Sijbesma, Honorary Chairman of Royal DSM, on the importance of purpose-driven leadership in a time of economic turbulence; Hamid Mamdouh, Senior Counsel of King & Spalding LLP, on SMEs, thriving markets and the future of trade; and Suzanne Gaboury, Director General, Private Sector Operations Department of the Asian Development Bank, on access to finance in emerging markets and the role of women entrepreneurs. The global audience also viewed a thought-provoking fireside chat titled “Creating Inclusive Global Trade” — between Bernard Kuiten, Head of External Relations of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Mariette Mulaire, President and CEO of World Trade Center Winnipeg — on how to achieve inclusivity in global trade by bringing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the dialogue. Additionally, the conference offered insightful conversations on the global economic outlook with Peter De Keyzer, Founder and Managing Partner of Growth Inc.; disruption and innovation in real estate with Sharif El-Gamal, Chairman, Founder and CEO of Soho Properties; measurement of social well-being with Roberto Rigobon, Professor of Applied Economics of MIT Sloan School of Management; and selflessness and building a stronger business community with Richard Lui, author, filmmaker and anchor at NBC/MSNBC.

“We firmly put the WTCA on the map as an important voice on international trade, driving the conversation on the role of companies as purpose-driven social actors who need a voice in the debate on creating a more inclusive global trade infrastructure. With our tremendous global network, we are well-positioned to continue to lead critical conversations on this topic,” stated Robin van Puyenbroeck. “Using AI technology, we successfully introduced a new virtual platform for facilitating business matchmaking on a global level, across industries and sectors. With this event, we demonstrated the true power and potential of our global WTCA community and provided many tangible benefits to our members and their networks.”

Further, attendees were introduced to WTCA partners of the Global Trade Helpdesk — an initiative by the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC — that simplifies market research by bringing together key trade information from across 11 different organizations in a single search. Lastly, John E. Drew and Robin van Puyenbroeck announced the launch of the WTCA “Trade Wins” Podcast and the 2022 WTCA GA, to be hosted by World Trade Center Accra, Ghana.

To view the recordings of the livestream sessions from the 2021 WTCA General Assembly (April 28 and 29), please visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOmmsIBGK-4QGO2-BBFEGg7Qs8hCM0UyF.

MEDIA CONTACT:

World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
Chanelle Kasik
Phone: +1 212 432 2644
Email: ckasik@wtca.org

About World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) is a network of more than 300 highly connected, mutually supporting businesses and organizations in 92 countries. As the owner of the “World Trade Center” and “WTC” trademarks, the WTCA licenses exclusive rights to these brands for Members to use in conjunction with their independently-owned, iconic properties, facilities and trade services offerings. Through a robust portfolio of events, programming and resources that it offers its Members, the goal of the WTCA is to help local economies thrive by encouraging and facilitating trade and investment across the globe through Member engagement. To learn more, visit www.wtca.org.

New York, NY (April 12, 2021) — The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) — an international trade organization connecting more than 320 World Trade Centers (WTCs) in nearly 100 countries — will host its 2021 annual General Assembly (GA), launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered B2B matchmaking platform.

The GA will bring together Member World Trade Centers and their global business networks consisting of leaders from business, government, academia, media and international organizations, reflecting the WTCA's diverse global footprint. With the theme of “The Power of Our Community,” the 2021 GA promises to be a unique and engaging week-long event, demonstrating the strength of the WTCA network and offering attendees the opportunity to learn from leading experts and connect with each other virtually via a complimentary AI-powered matchmaking platform. This year's week-long event will take on a 100% virtual format and be held from Monday, April 26 to Friday, April 30.

“In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, now, more than ever, is an important time to strengthen our connections and collaborate in international trade,” said John E. Drew, Chair, Board of Directors of the WTCA. “As a new addition to this year’s programming, we are incorporating an AI-powered matchmaking platform for a full week of networking opportunities to effectively and virtually connect GA attendees to business prospects around the world, at no cost to attendees.”

Mainstage sessions will kick off on April 27 with WTCA Members-only programming to provide updates from the WTCA Board of Directors and senior leadership, as well as updates from the nine Member Advisory Councils (MACs) covering areas such as Agriculture, Business Clubs, Conferences & Exhibitions, Real Estate and Trade Services. On April 28 and 29, the second and third days of the GA’s mainstage programming – which are open to all attendees – will include fireside chats, panel discussions and presentations from leading experts to help navigate today’s changing environment. The agenda promises a spectacular lineup, featuring Bernard Kuiten, Head of External Relations of the World Trade Organization (WTO); Feike Sijbesma, Honorary Chairman of Royal DSM; Hamid Mamdouh, Senior Council of King & Spalding LLP.; Peter De Keyzer, Founder and Managing Partner of Growth Inc.; Richard Lui, filmmaker, author and NBC/MSNBC anchor; Roberto Rigobon, Professor of Applied Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management; Sharif El-Gamal, Chairman, Founder and CEO of Soho Properties; and Suzanne Gaboury, Director General, Private Sector Operations Department of the Asian Development Bank.

Available to GA attendees for the whole week from April 26 to April 30, the AI-powered matchmaking platform uses an algorithm to collect and process individual interests of every event attendee, providing them with the means to discover the right content, foster meaningful connections with relevant matches and achieve individual goals. The tool also has the ability to learn from attendee interactions, further improving match relevance in real time and scheduling virtual one-on-one meetings instantaneously. Most importantly, it is complimentary, efficient and effective due to its ability to quickly find business prospects to connect with around the world.

“The WTCA is in a unique position as the only organization who can provide business matchmaking on a global level, across all industries and sectors. Not only through our vibrant network of WTCs, but also fully leveraging the latest technology. Hence we are proud to introduce our GA attendees to this AI-powered tool,” said Robin van Puyenbroeck, Executive Director-Business Development of the WTCA. “Leveraging an algorithm, attendees can receive a list of their best matches in just a few seconds — maximizing the time spent to establish networking opportunities with truly relevant people. We believe new technology such as this will benefit our Members and enhance our network’s ability to connect and facilitate trade for our Members and their business networks.”

For more information about the 2021 WTCA General Assembly, please visit https://events.bizzabo.com/WTCAGA2021.

MEDIA CONTACT:

World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
Chanelle Kasik
Phone: +1 212 432 2644
Email: ckasik@wtca.org

About World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) is a network of more than 320 highly connected, mutually supporting businesses and organizations in 92 countries. As the owner of the “World Trade Center” and “WTC” trademarks, the WTCA licenses exclusive rights to these brands for Members to use in conjunction with their independently-owned, iconic properties, facilities and trade services offerings. Through a robust portfolio of events, programming and resources that it offers its Members, the goal of the WTCA is to help local economies thrive by encouraging and facilitating trade and investment across the globe through Member engagement. To learn more, visit www.wtca.org.

New York, NY (March 2, 2021) — The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) — an international trade organization connecting more than 320 World Trade Centers (WTCs) in 92 countries — has introduced its member World Trade Centers — as well as their business members, tenants and clients — to the Global Trade Helpdesk (GTH).

“The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and World Trade Organization (WTO) developed the GTH to simplify market research for companies – especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) – by integrating trade and business information into a single, user-friendly platform,” stated Samuel Munyaneza, Senior Statistician of UNCTAD.

The WTCA hosted initial virtual training sessions in English and Spanish for its members over the span of three days from February 16 to 18, where nearly 150 attendees from World Trade Centers around the world participated in a demonstration of the complimentary online tool.

“On behalf of the WTCA, we are proud to offer our member WTCs and their MSME business networks with access to this new tool to make their market research more efficient,” stated Robin van Puyenbroeck, Executive Director-Business Development of the WTCA. “This tool aims to provide an integrated solution that puts a wealth of global trade information at the fingertips of entrepreneurs around the world.”

The online tool allows users to compare demand for products across markets, explore tariffs and other market access conditions, access details about buyers and navigate domestic export processes. Most importantly, it is complimentary, timely and relevant in today’s climate due to its ability to quickly find business partners to connect with around the world.

“We are delighted by the amount of positive feedback we have received from the WTCA’s members,” stated Anna Jankowska-Ericksson, Market Analyst in the Trade and Market Intelligence Section of the ITC. “The GTH was born from the idea that access to trade and market intelligence is critical to export success. We saw a lack of resources at the MSME level and created a simple tool to address prevalent information asymmetries hindering their competitiveness. We look forward to future collaboration efforts with the WTCA to help empower MSMEs to become active exporters and successfully navigate global trade.”

“We are focused on expanding this partnership and are planning targeted webinars for our member WTCs and their MSME business networks to share experiences and success stories resulting from the use of this new tool,” added van Puyenbroeck. “Not only will this help support MSMEs affiliated with our member WTCs, but it will also enhance our global network’s position as facilitators of global trade.”

MEDIA CONTACT:

World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
Chanelle Kasik
Phone: +1 212 432 2644
Email: ckasik@wtca.org

About World Trade Centers Association (WTCA)
The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) is a network of more than 320 highly connected, mutually supporting businesses and organizations in 92 countries. As the owner of the “World Trade Center” and “WTC” trademarks, the WTCA licenses exclusive rights to these brands for Members to use in conjunction with their independently-owned, iconic properties, facilities and trade services offerings. Through a robust portfolio of events, programming and resources that it offers its Members, the goal of the WTCA is to help local economies thrive by encouraging and facilitating trade and investment across the globe through Member engagement. To learn more, visit www.wtca.org.

About the Global Trade Helpdesk (GTH)
The Global Trade Helpdesk (GTH) is a multi-agency initiative led by the International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and World Trade Organization (WTO) that integrates existing data and services from 11 partner organizations into a single online portal for small businesses. To learn more, visit globaltradehelpdesk.org.