Google Invests in Latin America as Region’s Sales Jump 80%

Google Inc., the world’s biggest Internet-search company, is opening new offices in Latin America and boosting staffing levels by 50 percent to capitalize on its fastest-growing region.
Revenue from Latin America surged 80 percent last year, outpacing every other market, Vice President Dennis Woodside said in an interview at the company’s Buenos Aires office. Google, which has about 500 people in the region, has opened branches in Santiago, Lima and Bogota to take advantage of the growth, he said.
“What we are seeing is the Internet coming into its own in all the Latin American markets,” said Woodside, who handles sales for the Americas, including the U.S. “There are 650 million people in the region, and a lot of them are really coming online for the first time. Our business in Latin America is just booming.”
Google is seeking new growth areas to offset a maturing U.S. market and a diminished presence in China, the world’s most populous country. The U.S. and the U.K. accounted for about 60 percent of the $29.3 billion in total revenue last year, most of which was generated by ads. Google, based in Mountain View, California, doesn’t say what portion came from Latin America.
Google fell $12.64, or 2.1 percent, to $600.76 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have climbed 1.1 percent this year.