05.25.11

Mexican investors see Miami as safe haven for their money

A new investment group focuses on Mexicans who want to invest in South Florida’s opportunities.

By ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com

In one of the iconic buildings of Miami’s Brickell financial district, three young Mexican executives have opened an office to draw investors from their country and other parts of Latin America interested in finding a safe haven for their money.

East Coast Opportunity (ECO) group executives Mario Alonso, Emilio Braun Burillo and Iñaki Negrete have settled in a suite of offices in the Latitude building near Brickell Avenue and Southwest Seventh Street. They use money from foreign investors, mostly Mexicans, to buy distressed properties which are then refurbished, sold or rented.

ECO is one of a number of companies in U.S. cities offering services to a growing number of Mexican business owners and investors seeking safe places to invest beyond their country, which is being wracked by violence, chiefly in the northern states.

While most Mexican investors and executives are focused primarily on such U.S. border cities as El Paso and Houston in Texas or San Diego, there are groups interested in other U.S. cities such as Miami. The ECO executives, with experience in banking and marketing, said they have noticed a growing number of Mexican business owners or investors relocating to South Florida or trying to invest here.

“Miami is very important for us because we see it as the gateway to the United States for Latin America and Europe,â€