A string of business reforms directed by the Costa Rican government have bolstered the overall competitiveness of the nation, as per a trusted report. Over the span of last five years, Jamaica, Mexico and Costa Rica have been witness to record number of business reforms in all the Caribbean and Latin America. Nonetheless, according to Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency report from World Bank, Costa Rica has been named as the top most improver of the world, moving up by an alarming 21 positions since the last year.
Among some of the noteworthy achievements of Costa Rica are enhanced protocols for tax payments, obtaining credit and uniting with the electrical grid. In spite of the growing controversy about the electrical system of the country, now it is said that new businesses are able to get electricity in only 45 days and this time happens to be much less than some developed nations like Sweden!
Predictions for a better economic environment
Apart from the above mentioned reports, there are some others too which have revealed similar kind of positive business outlook for Costa Rica. Experts and analysts presently predict that there has been a 5% increase to the Costa Rican economy in 2016; they also say that it is because of the steady development and stability of the country which makes it so competitive. It was on the 30th of December that the Board of Central Bank of Costa Rica sanctioned a new Macroeconomic Program for 2016-2017, exhibiting their faith in the continuous growth of the nation’s economy.
What did the Costa Rican government do to achieve improvements?
Off late, Costa Rica had implemented a total of 3 big reforms in 2015, which as per the Presidential Office, directly benefitted the business and economy. Apart from the reforms, additional developments were also brought forward by different subdivisions of the government of Costa Rica. The MEIC or the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce arranged the defense of production and consumption of milled rice within the country. Investigations were also done in areas like oil, agriculture, fishing and unfair trade practices.
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Even more, private institutions like the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce or AmCham bring together some of the biggest minds in business from Costa Rica and other developed countries to build smooth and healthy business practices in the country. In 2015, AmCham worked on the Fiscal Policy Committee to make sure the new reforms on tax don’t harm the interests of their members. The International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration of AmCham brought forward an Infrastructure Forum which recognized a project ‘San Jose –San Ramon’ as a safe investment method for roads and infrastructure.
Will Brexit lead to better business opportunities in Costa Rica?
On the 23rd of June, there was a referendum held to decide whether or not the UK should leave EU or remain in the RU. The decision to leave EU won by 52% to 48% and the turnout of the referendum was 71.8% where an average of 30 million people voted. Nevertheless, it may still take some time for the UK to officially leave the European Union. Theresa May, the new Prime Minister respected the decision and will of the people and also added that she wouldn’t start the process of exit until the end of 2016.
Amidst all this uncertainty, this eventual exit of UK from Brexit could bring in new opportunities for business in Costa Rica. The panellists agreed to this in the conference organized by BRITCHAM (Chamber of British-Costa Rican Trade) in San Jose. Ross Denny, Ambassador of British Majesty in CR mentioned that despite the exit, they are always open to new businesses. In fact, the exit of United Kingdom from the European Union would grant Costa Rica to boost their exports to that area, thereby endorsing the nation as an ideal tourist destination, attracting direct foreign investment.
As per recent data from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, also called Comex, direct foreign investment of United Kingdom in Costa Rica was about $40 million in the year 2015. With regards to exports, this figure mirrored $180 million in 2015 with bananas (whether dried or fresh) as the main product for sale to this place.
The World Bank and IFC clearly show Costa Rica outshining other nations of Central America. In the bigger picture, Central America, especially Costa Rica is all set to yield noteworthy opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs. The growing middle class, increased trading opportunities and easy access to information is all set to create an entrepreneurial boom in Costa Rica in 2017 and beyond.