The Law on Legal Stability for Investments has been approved, which aims to improve confidence in the country preventing changes to incentive schemes granted to foreign companies.
From a statement issued by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador:
Legislative Plenary approves Legal Stability Law for Investment
This is another important step forward in the legislative endeavor, as with this approval legal stability is granted to entrepreneurs who decide to invest in the country. Using this tool, legislators will be able to give domestic and foreign businessmen, certainty that, once their investment project is approved, no one can change the rules of the game.
In Honduras there are plans to develop free zones to attract companies from El Salvador who have shown their fears about the business climate in the country.
Several Salvadoran companies have shown fear over the FMLN party winning the presidential election for the second time. Aware of the concerns of Salvadorans regarding the business climate in the Central American nation, Hondurans are working on attracting those companies.
The company owned by Venezuela and a group of municipalities from the ruling party continue to diversify; now they sell water and finance housing projects.
The Alba business conglomerate announced through José Luis Merino, Alba Petróleos advisor and coordinator of the ruling FMLN party, that it is to add a new business to those already it established in El Salvador since it came into the country in 2006.
FUSADES is asking the Salvadoran Congress to make reforms to the Special Act on Public-Private Partnerships in order to ensure its effectiveness.
The Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES) is refering to the reforms that have been put forward by the ARENA party which among other things suggest that the Agency for Promotion of Exports and Investments of El Salvador (PROESA) be in charge of monitoring the administration of the law. The recently passed legislation "includes a new administrative institution: the Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships", reported Laprensagrafica.com.
The National Association of Private Enterprise in El Salvador has declared that "money laundering is enabling Alba Petróleos to dabble in various production and commercial activities in the country."
According to an article in Elsalvador.com "The Executive Director of the ANEP, Arnoldo Jimenez said that this development ‘is part of a whole scheme of money laundering, diversion of funds and corruption that exists behind Alba ', referring to 'how Alba and el Frente (FMLN) are gaining economic control through political power'. "
The proposal to build a fast train to solve transportation problems is considered viable by different sectors.
Rodrigo Avila of the Arena party said they are preparing groundwork for bidding on the fast train project, which will require state and private investment.
Elsalvador.com reports, "According to Avila ... will install a committee made of technicians and experts in the field to discuss financing and infrastructure to kick-start the project. He said the project contemplated a sky train with two lanes, similar to the one at the U.S. city of Miami.”
It seems that not everyone in Funes' Government shares his objective of making investors feel secure.
Referencing policies implemented by Chilean governments, Rafael Castellanos wrote in Laprensagrafica.com: " 1) It is necessary to enlarge the social security network and 2) To reduce poverty we need growth, and to grow we need to attract foreign investment, and for this we need to make investors feel safe, we need them to be sure that the Government won't change the rules at any moment, in the long term required for obtaining returns over investments. Those are two key pillars for Chile's success".
Candidate Mauricio Funes met with Mexican magnates Carlos Slim and Ricardo Salinas promising to respect their investments in case he wins the elections.
Funes, former news anchor for CNN, is the favorite to win the elections to select a successor to president Elias Antonio Saca from the right. If he wins, it would be the first time that the ex-guerrilla Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN in Spanish) is in power.