BID Invest granted Calox de Costa Rica S.A. a loan that will help the company invest in substantial improvements in its production capacity and seek international certifications to validate the quality of its products.
The project has two main objectives. The first is to acquire the existing plant to make improvements in infrastructure and energy efficiency in order to become certified and expand its production capacity in the medium term.
The German Development and Investment Bank will grant a $19 million loan to Cooperativa de Productores de Leche Dos Pinos R.L., part of which will be invested in modernizing and expanding two production plants.
Other projects to be financed with the proceeds will include the renovation of the cold chain infrastructure and improving efficiency in the use of resources during the production process.
The Inter-American Development Bank approved two lines of credit totaling $500 million, resources that will be used by the Government to finance the public budget and policy reforms to ensure fiscal sustainability and maintain macroeconomic stability.
One of the approved lines incorporates contingency measures to increase spending related to the health emergency and targeted support to households and businesses affected by the crisis, informed the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
In addition to the $1,750 million that the government is seeking to obtain through the loan it is negotiating with the IMF, during the four years between 2022 and 2025 the country plans to place $4,000 million in foreign debt bonds.
In Costa Rica, a good part of the population is significantly indebted, since it is estimated that two out of every five consumers dedicate 38% or more of their monthly income to debt repayment.
The Office of the Financial Consumer (OFC) conducted during November 2020, the first survey of "Indebtedness of Costa Rican households", for which 1,200 people from all over the country, aged between 18 and 65 years old, were interviewed.
For 2021, some of the financial institutions competing in the Costa Rican market are betting on placing loans for the purchase of homes, consumer loans and business financing.
In Costa Rica, home purchase loans were already showing positive signs at the end of 2020, since in November of last year the amount of the loan portfolio in question reported a 7% year-on-year increase.
Given the agreement reached by the Alvarado administration and the IMF for Costa Rica to access a $1.75 billion loan, the business sector is calling for a reduction in public spending and for detailed information on the scope of the agreement signed by both parties.
In an attempt to ease the fiscal and economic crisis the country is going through, last year the Alvarado administration began negotiations to access a loan for $1.75 billion to be requested from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
CABEI approved a line of credit to be used by the Costa Rican Social Security Fund to finance construction and equipment projects for the Monsenor Sanabria Hospital in Puntarenas, the Max Peralta Hospital in Cartago and the William Allen Taylor Hospital in Turrialba.
The "Regional Hospital Infrastructure Strengthening Program" of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), which includes this loan, will finance the design, construction, equipment and maintenance of the three hospitals, which together will have a construction area of more than 200,000 m2 and will house space for more than 1,000 new beds.
Through a credit line from CABEI, the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage will finance the supply project for the Fifth Stage Metropolitan Aqueduct.
The megaproject, declared of public interest by the Government authorities, consists of the construction of 44.3 kilometers of pipelines, of which 8.6 kilometers are tunnels, a new water treatment plant and six storage tanks with a total capacity of 50,000 cubic meters.
CABEI and the Costa Rican authorities have signed a contract to extend the "Strategic Road Infrastructure Works Program" for a further $91 million, which finances, among other works, the construction of the Northern Beltway.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) informed that the $91 million addendum, in addition to the $340 million of the Program, will allow the construction of the Northern Beltway Functional Unit V which maintains a cost of $70.5 million, as well as the reinforcement and modernization of the bridge over the Virilla River on National Route 32.
Between July and October 2020, the number of people in El Salvador exploring mortgage options online increased by 18%, and the number of Costa Rican consumers looking to buy credit cards decreased by 60%.
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After the UCCAEP in Costa Rica began to negotiate the lifting of the blockades with the self-proclaimed group Rescate Nacional, promoter of the protests, several business chambers distanced themselves from that decision and others have expressed their support.
Given the wave of protests and blockades that have been reported in the country, which arose after it was reported that to access a loan from the International Monetary Fund for $1.75 billion, the government planned to tax financial transactions, raise the tax on the profits of companies and persons, and increase the tax on real estate. The Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) decided to negotiate the lifting of the blockades.
Faced with increasing chaos in Costa Rica due to demonstrations and blockades, a part of the business sector decided, unilaterally, to negotiate with representatives of the movement that incites to protest, and to reject the official call by the President of the Republic.
Although the Alvarado administration reversed the initial proposal to ask the IMF for $1.75 billion in financing and called for an inter-sectoral dialogue, Costa Rica is semi-paralyzed by the blockades that are taking place on various roads in the country.
In the last few months, interest in credit cards has been increasing in the digital environment, a rise that is mainly explained by the behavior of consumers in Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Through a system monitoring changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries in real time, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.