Mer-Link and CompraRed are fighting each other, "as if they were two private companies seeking to address the issue of the Costa Rican state."
An article on Crhoy reports that "Deputies are asking the government to accelerate the transfer of purchases to the Mer-Link system ... Members of the Committee on Revenue and Public Expenditure yesterday received representatives from Digital Government and the Ministry of Finance, who are fighting over which is the best system to use for public procurement."
The tender scheduled for the second half of the year includes a block of 40 MHz from the 1800 MHz band and a 30 MHz from the bands 1900/2100 MHz
After being canceled in late April by the Chinchilla administration, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Communications has decided to restart the project and is analysing how the bidding process will be structured.
The business confidence index calculated by the "Business Pulse" survey reached its lowest level in the last two years, with negativity being felt in the services and construction sectors in particular.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprises (Uccaep):
Fiscal deficit reduction, improved infrastructure and better governance.
Transparency in purchases made by the State is the main barrier to combating corruption of public officials and the only way to ensure fair competition between suppliers.
In all Central American countries resistance to single platforms for government procurement is headed by public officials who thrive on the old systems of administration which kept processes and decisions regarding expenditure in the dark.
The next Minister of Agriculture talks about subsidies to "the others" and "unfair competition", but not about the dramatic differences in productivity between Costa Rican rice producers and those "others".
The appointed Minister of Agriculture, Luis Felipe Arauz, has announced that he will review - in order to extend- the deadline set by the outgoing government to liberalize the price of rice.
The CEO of the multinational confirmed that the closure of the plant did not respond to reasons of global strategy but to the high operating costs in the country.
An article in Crhoy.com reports that in a presentation for employees of the company, the executive director of Intel, Brian Krzanich said that "the decision in Costa Rica was not part of plans to reduce the company's overall payroll but 'had more to do with the cost of this operation, the long-term operational cost of the plant. We spent several years working with the Government of Costa Rica, trying to reduce the overall cost of this operation.'"
Processes that should take a few minutes actually take over two months which means a loss in competitiveness for the sector, slowing trading and paralyzing the export sector.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry (CACIA):
Food Industrialists are asking for Presidential intervention in light of the crisis caused by slow food registrations
If a business owner is not able to solve problems he goes bankrupt and has no income, whereas government workers continue to get a salary, later a pension... and always sleep through the night...
Editorial
The President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, now days away from the end of her term, criticized "...unions and employers for opposing key works in the province of Limón."
The urgency of the outgoing Chinchilla administration to award the much questioned road project to a Chinese company must be analyzed in light of the costly mistakes that have already been made on these issues.
Editorial
An article by Mario Bermudez on Elfinancierocr.com lists some of the very expensive "mistakes" made by the Costa Rican government in relation to public infrastructure, failures that have resulted not only in the country being on the brink of collapse in terms of infrastructure, but have generated direct costs in the form of multiimillion dollar fines, contract settlements, or just in wasted money.
The mere name of the bill approved by Congress "An Act to Discourage Entry of Capital from Abroad" reveals how dangerous this regulation could be for the Costa Rican business climate.
An article in Nacion.com reports that "...This bill was submitted to Congress a year ago, promoted by the Government, after the central bank detected a wave of speculative capital attempting to take advantage of interest rates in the country and then take it abroad."
The Costa Rican government will ask the International Court of Justice to determine the border between the two countries in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Both countries have not reached an agreement over the delimitation of their maritime boundaries, and the recent decision by Nicaragua to tender exploration and exploitation of oil in Caribbean waters has alarmed the government of Costa Rica which has denounced Nicaragua for offering such licenses in areas that Costa Ricans consider belongs to them.
Colombia, Peru, Chile and Mexico approved the inclusion of Costa Rica to the Partnership Framework Agreement, the first step towards total integration into the block.
From a press release issued by the Presidency of Costa Rica:
Under the VIII Summit of Heads of State of the Pacific Alliance, the President of the Republic, Laura Chinchilla Miranda, along with her counterparts in Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Chile, Sebastián Piñera Echenique, Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto and Peru, Ollanta Humala Tasso signed a Declaration on the Accession of Costa Rica to the Pacific Alliance.
The Pacific Alliance has become the largest market in Latin America and an attractive investment for companies in third party countries who want to use it.
"In 2012, the Gross Domestic Product of the Pacific Partnership (AP by its initials in Spanish) grew by 5%, two points higher than that recorded by the global economy. FDI remained at an acceptable rhythm, with $71.045 billion, of which over $30 billion was destined for Chile.
The multinational has announced investments of $31 million to expand its plant in Cartago and open a new service center in Heredia.
From a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Trade:
With an investment of $31 million, the company Kimberly-Clark (KC) will strengthen its manufacturing operations and services in Costa Rica. The company will invest $27 million in its new plant in Coris, Cartago, plus an additional $ 4 million for a new Shared Service Centre located in Heredia and which will support its business network throughout Latin America.
A $270 million loan awarded by the BCIE will enable the construction of new hospital facilities in San Jose, Guanacaste and Puntarenas.
From a press release issued by the Presidency of Costa Rica:
This morning (yesterday) the Government of the Republic signed an agreement with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) which allows the construction of new hospital facilities, strengthening and increasing the capacity for attention of three national hospitals in the provinces of San José, Guanacaste and Puntarenas; in the latter place a new hospital will be built, since facilities were affected by the earthquake of 2012.