Although in the Nicaraguan market properties are priced up to 30% or 40% cheaper compared to the prices registered prior to the political and health crisis, sales have fallen considerably.
Taking as a reference 2017, the year prior to the political and social crisis in Nicaragua, it is evident that currently real estate prices have decreased by up to 30% or 40%, assure businessmen in the sector.
Since the beginning of the political crisis in 2018, the activity began to decline, the trend continued in 2019 and by 2020 the expectation is that the fall in investments in the sector will be more acute, mainly private ones.
Official data indicates that between 2017 and 2018 investment in private construction projects decreased by 17%, from $1,106 million to $914 million.
Policies focused on credit restructuring, fiscal incentives for the production of essential goods and improving the efficiency of import and export processes are part of the proposals of the Nicaraguan private sector to face the economic and health crisis.
"In recent weeks, the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep) has been proposing a series of measures to the authorities in response to the unstoppable advance of the pandemic caused by the outbreak of covid-19 and the alarming situation of the health system," the union explained in a statement.
Given the political and economic crisis affecting the country since April 2018, a scenario that has combined with the crisis of covid-19, the loan portfolio increased from $5,172 million in March 2018 to $3,404 million at the end of April 2020.
According to figures of the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif), in the first four months of the year a decrease in the credit portfolio is also reflected, since it went from $3.578 million reported at the closing of 2019 to $3.404 million recorded in April 2020, representing -5% variation for the four-month period in question.
Nicaraguan businessmen believe that electoral reform is essential to reactivate the country's economic activity, which has been in decline since the crisis erupted in 2018.
According to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Nicaragua's Gross Domestic Product contracted by 5.7% in 2019, a drop that complements the year-on-year variation of -3.8% recorded in 2018.
After production in Nicaragua fell 3.8% in 2018, the IMF estimates that during 2019 the GDP will contract by 5.7%, however, the agency predicts that by 2020 the variation could be only -1.2%.
Real GDP is estimated to have contracted by another 5.7% in 2019 due to the deterioration in aggregate demand, fiscal consolidation and sanctions, the IMF reported after its visit to the country.
In a context of falling production, the restaurant La Marseillaise, which operated in the country's capital, announced that it will temporarily close its facilities.
The French foodrestaurant, which had a capacity to serve 150 people and had been operating in Managua for more than four decades, made its closure official in a brief statement.
In the stock market, $43 million in stock documents were traded during January, which is 123% more than the amount reported for the same month in 2018, contrasting with the negative variations that have been registered since the political crisis began in April 2018.
The figures from the Nicaraguan Stock Exchange show that between January 2019 and the same month in 2020, stock market negotiations grew by $24 million, from $19 million to $43 million.
Businessmen in the sector say that for the last two years the theft of livestock and illegal slaughtering of animals has been on the rise.
Representatives of the Federation of Livestock Associations of Nicaragua (Faganic) reported that another situation that affects them is the shortage of credit for producers.
Arguing that the country's situation is complex and that the need for greater liquidity to meet its immediate responsibilities has had consequences on its funding sources, Factoring S.A. announced its exit from the local stock market.
Managers of the financial institution reported that the company began operations in 1998 and in 2011 was authorized by the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif), to make issues in the stock market.
Because the number of foreign visitors arriving to Nicaragua has decreased considerably, during 2019 businesses in the sector were kept afloat by the income generated by national tourists.
According to the report "Situation of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Tourism Businesses in 2019", prepared by the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides), 62% of the businesses surveyed stated that at the time of the survey they had fewer workers than in March 2018, weeks before the crisis broke out.
With the Nicaraguan authorities confirming that they will review the Tax Agreement Law again in 2020, the business sector is calling for the correction of several measures that have decapitalized companies operating in the country.
On February 27, 2019, the reform to the Tax Harmonization Law was approved, which consisted in raising income tax from 1% to 2% for medium sized companies with higher income, and from 1% to 3% for large taxpayers.
In a context of economic recession, Nicaraguan exports have recorded good performance, as to November 2019 revenues totaled $2,536 million, 4% higher than reported in the same period of 2018.
Figures from the Centro de Tramites de Exportaciones (Cetrex) detail that between January and November 2018 and the same period in 2019, foreign sales increased by $89 million, going from $2,447 million to $2,536 million.
According to Fitch Ratings, banks in Nicaragua will continue to be pressured by the remaining effects of an economic contraction for the second consecutive year, a situation derived from the political crisis affecting the country.
Between March 2018 and September 2019, the number of loans granted in Nicaragua by the banking sector has been reduced by around 540,000, a drop attributed to the economic crisis the country is going through.
Data from the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif), say that in March last year, the month before the onset of the crisis, 1.8 million loans were reported, and in September 2019 the figure fell to 1.26 million.
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