Written in conjunction with TMF Group
With a global market in full-swing and recovering from the recession impacts that swept across trading floors in 2009, foreign direct investment (FDI) has returned and continues to expand with new opportunities daily. The last two decades have seen investors moving into developing markets repeatedly, especially when looking for new industries that are growing and expanding fast.
Granted, challenges do exist. 2014 saw ups and downs across the global FDI market. The year started slow due to multinationals performing lower than expected in the U.S. and United Kingdom, but then there was a turnaround in the second quarter, showing a revenue mark of $325 billion in new activity. At the same time, the Central American region is performing as a big standout along with neighboring Caribbean markets. We highlight three such players below.
Costa Rica
Nestled just above Panama and below Nicaragua, Costa Rica has been fortunate to avoid much of the civil war strife that tore up its neighbors from the 1970s to the 1990s. That, in turn, allowed the country to focus its efforts on infrastructure and prime its ability to grow once the global markets started opening up significantly. No surprise then, the Central American country has ranked exceedingly well as one of the top destinations for financial investment and return. Stability is the key factor in Costa Rica’s markets, politics and economic platforms, with tourism and agriculture as the big areas of financial support and movement. Additionally, due to the exceptional education of its workforce, Costa Rica has a budding technology field as well, offering a big gateway into Latin America with trained personnel and modern facilities.
Panama
The country famous for the Panama Canal has also enjoyed a huge turn around since the dark days of its notoriety under Manuel Noriega. The entire influence of that time has been quietly swept out and removed, thanks to the U.S. military and follow-up intervention in the 1990s. Today, Panama is right behind Costa Rica, sharing in much of its economic growth with physical proximity, as a promising developing market. Its economic growth has been on a hot trend, expanding by more than six percent in 2014, and the same is expected in 2015 as well. Major infrastructure projects are in the works with roads, public metro transit, and airport improvements all slated for serious construction activity. This kind of modernization makes the country ripe for new opportunity.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico was in the news recently for issues with its municipal financing. However, these are issues that are on the government side of the table, not the private market. The over-extension of debt is an issue that will ultimately play out in Congress with regards to solutions, or in federal bankruptcy court because the island is a U.S. territory. On the private side, however, Puerto Rico has been booming and became the third in the handful of fast-growing economies in Central America. Tourism, renewable energy and manufacturing are all key players in investment opportunities, and with a government chased up a tree by its creditors the regulatory side is likely to be extremely receptive to new business making Puerto Rico home.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about how CT can help you better manage your global compliance needs, contact a CT representative at 844-318-1457 (toll-free US).
Join the conversation. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook.