In Guatemala, Corporación Multi Inversiones will invest over the next few months in the expansion and remodeling of three shopping centers and the construction of two more.
Managers of Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI) said that the shopping centers of Pradera Chimaltenango and Pradera Xela, will be expanded, while that of Pradera Escuintla will be remodeled. Then they will continue with the opening of Pradera Petapa and Pradera Zacapa.
Excel Automotriz opened a new service center of 2 thousand square meters, at kilometer 126.5 of the highway to the Atlantic in Rio Hondo, Zacapa.
Company executives informed that in the new service center there will be maintenance and repair of vehicles, and also sell different types of spare parts.
In Guatemala, Cofiño Stahl opened a new service center in Alta Verapaz, at kilometer 214 of the road from Cobán to San Pedro Carchá.
The new enclosure will have the services of alignment, balancing and 4 bays for the support of the maintenance of the automobiles, one of express service, in which the service will be provided by means of appointment programming.
About $200 million is estimated to be invested in improvements to the Central American network, both nationally and regionally, to avoid the recurrence of service interruptions that occurred days ago.
On September 16, a power failure in Honduras caused the interruption of the service of approximately 40% of the area that make up the Central American countries that are interconnected.
Alejandro Giammattei, elected president of Guatemala, will propose to the authorities of the North American country that a special economic zone covering both sides of the border be developed.
Guatemala's president-elect is wasting no time, since four months after taking office, he is already making investment proposals to neighboring countries. In this case, he will do so in Mexico, where on September 20 he will meet with Lopez Obrador and will deliver a file on the issues he proposes to work on in the coming years.
For the rest of 2019 and next year, the chain of furniture and appliance stores La Curacao plans to open 40 new sales points in the region.
Managers of the company in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic, reported that currently have 319 stores, and with the projected investment would reach a total of 359 sales points.
Honda invested $8 million in the construction of its new service center, which has a 14,000 square meter area and is located in Zone 10 of the capital.
The Honda Center is a five-story, two-basement building in which the company has areas for salesrooms, parking spaces and vehicle repair shops.
On August 14, the company Rianxeira began to operate its new plant for processing fish waste into flour and oil, located in Escuintla.
The industrial complex located at kilometer 97, highway to Puerto Quetzal, Escuintla, will process all types of waste, such as fish heads, skeletons, bones, bone parts and viscera.
In Guatemala, businessmen are asking the incoming government to create a public policy on foreign investment that incorporates issues such as fair and equitable treatment of investments, the minimum standard of treatment and the definition of arbitrariness.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country is not having its best moment, as figures from the Bank of Guatemala indicate that in 2018 the flow captured was $1.031 million, 12% less than the $1.170 million reported in 2017. See official data.
The conflict between the U.S. and China could lead to business opportunities for companies in the region as a result of the tariff policies being implemented by the two world powers.
The trade war between the United States and China, two of the world's largest markets, is essentially about the authorities imposing tariffs on a number of products that both countries produce and sell abroad.
Panama and Honduras were the only two Central American countries to report increases in foreign direct investment in 2018 over the previous year, with year-on-year changes of 36% and 3%, respectively.
The growth of investments directed to Panama, which concentrated 51% of the sub-regional total, explained the increase that was reached in 2018 in Central America (9.4%), since except Panama and Honduras, the Central American countries received less Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) than in 2017, explains the report "Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2019", produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Most of the reported increase in foreign investment flows to the country in the first quarter of the year was explained by investments in the electricity sector.
In the first quarter of 2019, figures from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) report a considerable increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) compared to the same period last year, going from $293 million to $340 million.
With the strategic development of the Guatemala Country Brand, there are expectations in the business sector to jointly promote investments, exports and tourism.
Although in Guatemala the right to operate the El Escobal mine was granted in law, the project has been suspended for two years, making future investments in the country unviable.
The disadvantages for Minera San Rafael's operations date back to 2017, when in May of that year the Guatemalan Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (Calas) filed a protective action, arguing that the Ministry of Energy and Mines had not conducted the necessary community consultations before authorizing the licenses.