Costa Rica as an economy is trying to shift its primary dependence from an agrarian economy to industrial economy based on high tech telecommunications services and microprocessor production. Costa Rica provides one of the most conducive environments for foreign investments amongst Latin American countries.
Costa Rican government, financial institutions and banks maintain very pro investment policies.
Costa Rica boasts of highly educated, skilled workforce and state of the art infrastructure to support foreign investments in various businesses. There are lucrative business opportunities in the country because of free trade zones and tax holiday opportunities which have numerous advantages such as:
• 100% tax exemption on profits for eight years and 50% tax exemption on profits for following four years.
• Raw material, capital goods, parts and components are exempted from import duties.
• There is no restriction on profit repatriation.
Besides electronics, the scenic beauty of Costa Rica offers a very high return on investment in real estate. According to the laws of Costa Rica all private companies or individuals, be it local or foreign can own property in Costa Rica. However if the property is being owned by a foreign national physical occupancy is a must. If the property is ocean front then it must be at least at a distance of 50 meters from beach.
If you are seriously thinking about investing in real estate in Costa Rica there are some reliable real estate agents who can broker the deal. The real estate listings include hotels for sale, bar and restaurant real estate and land development projects for most popular tourist attractions.
Investors and their lawyers who are interested in investing in real estate in Costa Rica must go to following government authorities:
• National Registry for title search.
• Ministry of environment and Energy for environmental impact study.
• The local municipalities for zoning laws and building permits.
In Costa Rica there are several helpful resources which extend their advisory services to potential investors.
AMCHAM: To explore the opportunities for investing in Costa Rica, Costa Rican-American Chamber of commerce (AMCHAM) is one of the very helpful resources. AMCHAM has about 1500 member representing 330 multinational and local companies.
CINDE: Costa Rica Investment and Development Board (CINDE) is a non profit private organization that has been officially commissioned by government to be the main promoter and advisor to foreign investors about business opportunities in Costa Rica. CINDE helps the potential investors with the up to date information about the business environment of Costa Rica and to establish initial contacts.
PROCOMER: PROCOMER is the foreign trade promotion institute that helps the exporters to understand rules, regulations, legislations, and way to acquire export permits and spotting the market opportunities.
CADEXCO: CADEXCO is another resource that helps the entrepreneurs, private and public institutions to understand and effectively deal with trade barriers, export procedures and gives them information on export contracts and international prices.
For businessmen this is the right time to invest in flourishing economy of Costa Rica if one wants to reap maximum return in future. With such a business friendly economic environment, Costa Rica is set to become the hub of international business for countries like America and Canada.
