173 companies operating in 48 industrial parks using the free zone format, in three years increased the total number of square meters used by 33%.
An estimated $300 million has been invested between January and November 2015 by companies operating under the free zone incentive scheme, which are focused on the textile industry mainly in the manufacture of harnesses, production of tobacco and more recently, services such as call centers.
At the end of 2014, exports from free zones totaled $5,242 million, equivalent to 53% of total exports from the country.
The sectors that reported the most exports are medical and pharmaceutical products with 25%, textiles 24%; electrical products, with 14%; tobacco and derivatives, with 11%; footwear and components, with 9%.
The president of the Dominican Association of Free Zones, Jose Tomas Contreras, told elnuevodiario.com.do that "...
The concessionaire London & Regional Panama has a higher rate of investment than it promised the Panamanian government when it won the contract.
At the end of 2014 the company had invested $430 million, which is $25 million more than it had agreed to invest up to 2016. Despite this, representatives of London & Regional Panama argue that the amount of bureaucracy has been one of the obstacles limiting growth of the area.
Korean investors are studying the Nicaraguan market, evaluating new investments in the country.
33 Korean companies are currently operating in the country with a capital investment of $156 million, of which $133 million is related to investments in ‘EPZ’s (free zone regimes).
"High levels of public safety and the fiscal incentives in the free zone regime are the two conditions attracting the attention of Korean investors, said the Soon Tae Kim, South Korean ambassador in Managua.