
Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp. plans to invest 800 million dollars to boost production capacity at a factory in the province of Buenos Aires. The plan unveiled by Argentine Industry Minister Debora Giorgi will almost double the size of the factory and allows to increase vehicle output to 140,000 units a year from 92,000 currently.

Noble Energy Falkland Islands Ltd continue to negotiate with the Falkland Islands Government on the construction of a temporary port to the east of FIPASS prior to progressing the application for planning permission, the company’s representative in the Falkland Islands told Penguin News this week.

The government of President Cristina Fernandez has given another step towards the state control of the Argentine railway system, following the nationalization of three other lines which connect the City of Buenos Aires to the provinces of Tucumán and Córdoba, passing through Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero provinces.

The Vaca Muerta formation in the Argentine provinces of Neuquén and Mendoza has been ranked among the 23 highest tight oil reserve areas in the world, according to to a report released yesterday by global information company IHS.

A shipyard has completed the construction of the P-55, Brazil's largest offshore oil platform, which will have the capacity to produce 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, it was announced by officials.

Falkland Islands Desire Petroleum announced on Monday its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2013, having posted losses of 1.6 million dollars for the six months to the end of June, down from 1.9 million previously.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) praised Argentina’s Law on Rural Lands (Ley de Tierras Rurales), stating that the measure could serve as an example for the region. FAO has invited Argentine representatives to expound their experience with the law at a workshop to be staged next week in the Colombian capital of Bogotá.

Following a meeting with President Dilma Rousseff, Banco Santander Chairman Emilio Botin said that the Spanish bank has 10 billion dollars available to finance infrastructure projects in Brazil. He also anticipated that loan book growth at Banco Santander Brasil SA would be up about 10% in 2013.

Argentina's Consumer Price Index (IPC) was of 0.8% in August, according to the INDEC statistics bureau, totalling 6.6% this year. Price hikes were mainly seen in food and beverage, household equipment and maintenance sectors. Meanwhile, entertainment costs went down in August.

Uruguay's economy expanded 5.6% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier and 2.1% compared with the first three months of this year, the central bank said in its quarterly report.