U.S. medical technology company Stryker announced the opening of a financial services center in the country, through which it will support its operations in the region.
From the statement of the Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives:
San José, Costa Rica. November 5, 2018. Stryker, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, announced it will open an office in Costa Rica, as it creates a hub for finance activities and services.
Last year the country attracted 40 new foreign direct investment projects, which generated around $2.165 billion.
Jorge Sequeira, General Director of the Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives explained that "... 'themultinational companies attracted with the support of CINDE generated 20% of formal net jobs in the country and 23% of total employment generated by private companies in 2017. It is important to note that the growth rate of employment in multinationals was 7.8%, 3.7 times more than the average of the country which reported growth of 2.1%'."
In 2016, the average cost of 1 kWh in Central America was 13.48 cents, while in Costa Rica, it was 18.47 cents.
A report from the CEPAL indicates that in 2016, the average cost of one kilowatt hour (kWh) in Central America was 13.48 cents, while in Costa Rica it was 18.47 cents; 37% more for industrial consumption of 100,000 kWh.In El Salvador and Guatemala, it was 11.03 and 11.54 cents respectively. In Panama, 10.92 cents.
An announcement has been made that the company Apollo Endosurgery is to set up a 1750 meter device manufacturing plant in the Coyol area in the province of Alajuela.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE):
Apollo Endosurgery, Inc., a US medical device company, today announced that it has chosen Costa Rica as a site to install its new manufacturing plant in Coyol, Alajuela, where it will develop a variety of products including LAP-BAND® System - the only device approved by the FDA for weight reduction in people with at least one health problem related to obesity and who have a Body Mass Index of 30 or more.
The platform to digitize and centralize export formalities will not be completely ready before the end of the year.
Since its launch in February 2014, only half of the Foreign Trade Single Counter platform has been running and it only allows processess to be carried out digitally in 5 out of the 44 technical documents for export products.
The documents which can be processed for now correspond to "....
An announcement has been made of a beta version of a digital platform for paperwork and export permits which is integrated with related institutions.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica :
This morning (yesterday) PROCOMER launched the beta version of Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE) 2.0 a project that will revolutionize the export sector and domestic importer, offering an interoperable platform ( with approvals in minutes) between the 16 state institutions state that are involved in foreign trade procedures.
It is estimated that there are more than 50 companies waiting for the definition of the steps necessary to legitimately use the trade mark 'Essential Costa Rica'.
With the publication of the regulation in the Official Gazette," the Institute of Technical Standards of Costa Rica (Inteco) will be able to apply the exam for evaluators to visit companies interested in becoming certified with the brand," noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.
The new brand image for the country will promote tourism, boost exports and attract investment.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex):
esencial COSTA RICA henceforth will be a national brand that Costa Rica will use officially to present its international image to the world.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex), the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) and the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE) revealed the new country brand to be used as a tool for positioning, differentiation and competitiveness of Costa Rica to potential investors, tourists and international buyers of Costa Rican products.
During the first seven months of 2013, Costa Rican exports fell by 1.1% compared with the same period in 2012.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade:
During the past 12 months ending in July, exports of goods maintained a growth rate of 1.7% compared to the 12 months prior to them, even though total January exports to July 2013 fell by 1.1% compared with the same period in 2012, reaching $6.693 billion.
In terms of how modern the infrastructure for air transport is, Panama leads the field, followed distantly by Costa Rica.
"None of the airports in Central America comes close to knocking Tocumen off its number one position in the ranking by Skytrax, nor the ranking by the World Economic Forum. The latter measures the quality of infrastructure for air travel in the country , where Panama climbed from 38th place in 2007 to last year reach the prestigious position of sixth place," reported Elsalvador.com.
On 20 and 21 May, representatives from more than 20 countries in America will discuss in El Salvador the features of this tool and its influence on foreign trade.
From a press release issued by the Ministry of Economy in El Salvador:
El Salvador has been selected as the site to host the Third Meeting of Single Foreign Trade Windows, an event that is sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank and will be attended by representatives from 27 countries of Latin.
Modifications to the Costa Rica Free Zone and Active Improvement Regime include 52 procedures that can be performed online.
Among the steps that can be done online is the facility for businesses to apply for entry into the free zone regime, and changing the level of investment as well as the minimum level of employment.
Procomer General Manager, Jorge Sequeira, said the procedure simplifications are aimed at attracting more foreign investment into the country.