After in the first semester of 2018 a 13% y-o-y fall in foreign investment flows was reported, the accumulated up to September totaled $4.251 million, 9% more than in the same period of 2017.
According to figures from the General Comptroller of the Republic, Foreign Direct Investment in Panama increased between the first nine months of 2017 and the same period in 2018, going from $3.892 million to $4.251 million.
The sector guild in the Dominican Republic approved the installation permits for 11 new companies, and it is expected that the companies will invest around $20 million.
During the first nine months of 2018, Foreign Direct Investment flows to the country totaled $457 million, almost 5% more than in the same period in 2017.
From the Central Reserve Bank statement:
At the end of the third quarter of 2018, increases in foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled US$1,221.8 million, reflecting a 24.1% increase (US$237.2 million) over the previous year. In these transactions, the industrial, information and communications and financial sectors were highlighted, representing more than 70% of the total. The increase in FDI is the largest recorded in the first three quarters since 2010.
Since the free trade zones law was amended, almost 100 companies have closed in Guatemala in the last two years, and by 2019 the figure is expected to keep growing if the regulatory framework is not modified.
Data from the Bank of Guatemala detail that from January to October of this year, exports of companies in free trade zones totaled $471 million, 2% less than the $479 million registered in the first ten months of 2017.
Businessmen in Costa Rica ask the government to complete projects that promote the reactivation of the economy next year, where construction and agriculture are the highest priority activities.
In addition to the economic rebound, the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) expects the country not to focus on single-issue discussions, as happened in 2018 with the fiscal plan.
During 2018, Guatemala received $1.175 million in FDI, barely 0.5% more than the investment reported in 2017, mainly because of the political and legal uncertainty that ruled the country.
Figures from the Banco de Guatemala (Banguat) report that in the last five years, the country has gained $6,139 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), being 2014 the one that registered the highest year-on-year increase when reporting a 7% rate regarding 2013.
In 2018, nearly 13,000 new jobs were generated in Costa Rica because of investment in 48 new projects in the service, manufacturing and other productive sectors.
The Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives (CINDE) reported that because of new companies arrived in the country together with investments made by companies already installed, 12,961 new jobs were generated in the sectors of services, digital technologies, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and light manufacturing.
Mariott International, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels and Ritz-Carlton Reserve, presented to Dominican Republic authorities their plans to develop luxury tourism projects in Puerto Plata.
From the statement of the Presidency of the Dominican Republic:
The use of nanotechnology in production processes is one of the investments that companies in the textile industry will have to make to compete at a global level.
According to specialists in nanotechnology, an area focused on the design and manipulation of matter at the level of atoms or molecules for industrial purposes, in the production processes several advanced techniques exist that give industry the opportunity to innovate and access new markets.
In Costa Rica, fast food restaurant chains plan to open at least 14 new sales points in different areas of the country next year.
Some of the companies planning to expand their restaurant chain in 2019 include: Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Subway, KFC and QSR International, and their key commitment to further expansion will be to move into smaller locations.
During the first nine months of 2018, the country reported the arrival of three new foreign brand franchises, significantly below the 17 franchises registered in the same period last year.
In the last decade, 2017 was the year with the highest number of franchises, according to a report by the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce and the National Franchise Center.
In Panama, 77% of companies do not plan to make new investments during the fourth quarter of the year, and 38% do not intend to hire more employees.
According to a survey conducted by the Center for Economic Studies of the Chamber of Commerce of Panama, 10% of the companies surveyed expect to increase staffing, 50% will remain the same, while 2% do not know.
Although the Sears store chain was declared bankrupt this week in the U.S., brand representatives in Guatemala announced renovations to its facilities.
Largely explained, because of the e-commerce boom, last Monday the U.S. store chain SearsRetail declared bankruptcy. However, representatives of the brand in Guatemala informed that by belonging to the franchise Sears Brands, its operations will not be affected in the country.
Foreign Direct Investment decreased from $1.658 million to $1.199 million between the first half of 2017 and the same period in 2018.
According to data from the Central Bank of Costa Rica reported a decrease in the flow of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during the first half of 2018, contrasts with the increase of 52% recorded in the same period last year, given that between the first six months of 2016 and the same period in 2017, the flow went from $1.088 million to $1.658 million.
Lack of legal certainty, electricity theft and social conflicts are forcing businessmen in Guatemala's energy sector to choose to relocate their investments to El Salvador.
Last year, the companies Applied Energy Services (AES) and Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI), both US and Guatemalan capital, decided to invest $47 million in solar energy projects, encouraged by the facilities offered to the energy sector in El Salvador.
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