Mexico's business sector expects steady profits in 2017: KPMG

Mexico's business sector expects to gain steady profits in 2017 or slightly less with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, according to a survey by the multinational auditing firm KPMG released on Monday.

In the survey, some 87 percent business owners in Mexico said they projected profits to hold steady or dip somewhat now that Donald Trump governs Mexico's largest trade partner, the United States.

Since Trump insists he can get a better deal for U.S. workers and industry, Mexico and the United States are about to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect in 1994.

Of the 868 top executives queried for a report titled 2017 Outlook of Top Management in Mexico, 57 percent said profits would remain where they are, while 30 percent said profits would erode.

Only 13 percent expected profits to increase this year, despite Trump's anti-trade stance.

"The survey results reflect a state of latent uncertainty among Mexican businesses, however, we see that companies are mainly focusing on their clients, human talent and innovation," said KPMG's national representative, Roberto Cabrera.

Mexico still has a competitive edge over other economies, the firm said, noting automotive production costs in Mexico are 12.3 percent lower than in the United States and 8.6 percent lower than in Japan. Endi