MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Growing activity and competition in Punta Arenas.

The growing commercial activity of Punta Arenas with significant investments and a notorious increase in competition was highlighted by La Prensa Austral last weekend.

The local newspaper points out to the fact that this coming week D&S, one of Chile's main retail chains will be opening a shopping mall with 20 different businesses totalling an investment of 14 million US dollars.

The new commercial ground includes a McDonald's quick food outlet and another branch of Leader supermarkets.

Abu-Gosch, a local company with interests in Punta Arenas Free Trade Zone is expanding to the south of the city and has signed a strategic alliance with CMR-Falabella, one of Chile's main stores. Another group Gildmeister has invested almost four million US dollars in purchasing strategic plots and surfaces to continue with the Cofrima supermarket chain, a direct competitor of the Leader group.

Another apparel retail that is expanding and renewing its outlets is Johnson's (3,5 million US dollars) and Sodimac has plans for a complete overhaul of its local business in Punta Arenas.

With all the coming competition and Chile's policy of lowering tariffs the Punta Arenas Free Trade Zone has also been forced to modernize and improve its offer.

La Prensa Austral then writes about the increased air competition with the arrival this month of two new air carriers, Aerolíneas del Sur, (beginning this Monday) and Sky Airlines, both of which will try to get a share of Lan Chile's almost monopolistic situation regarding Magallanes Region air links with the rest of Chile.