Nicaragua As Seen by the Private Sector

Poverty has declined, foreign investment has quintupled in a decade, the economy has grown more than the average in Central America and Nicaraguan businessmen are applauding it.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Carlos Pellas, one of the most successful Central American businessmen with investments in sectors relating to financial insurance, agribusiness, information technology, energy, vehicle distribution, and production and beer and spirits, did not make a statement in a merely personal capacity but rather one relating to the economy of his country, Nicaragua, when he said that "people think that things are going well, there is a lot of investment, construction has grown, it is a dynamic sector, you can tell that from one look".

His optimistic statement is backed up by figures from the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN), published by elfinancierocr.com, which show that the governing body "... expects the country to have closed 2015 with an economic growth of between 4.3% and 4.8%, with annual inflation of 2% to 3%.

"... Between 2012 and 2015, the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nicaragua grew on average by 4.7%, above the 3.7% average for Central America in the same period. Per capita GDP rose from $1,204 in 2006 to $1,929 in 2015. Formal employment grew from 439,000 jobs to 783,000 in the same period, and tax revenues went from $926 million to $1.969 billion. "

Other indicators such as the loan portfolio, deposits, international reserves, exports and remittances also experienced increases in the reference period. Most noteworthy was the increase in foreign direct investment, which increased fivefold in nine years, going from $287 million in 2006 to $1.5 billion in 2015. Moreover, poverty fell from 42.5% in 2009 to 29.6% in 2014.

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