A recent Bloomberg article highlights positive comments made by Marco Vinicio Ruiz, Costa Rica’s minister of foreign trade. After a difficult year in 2009 that has seen foreign direct investment fall 30%, Ruiz stated that in 2010, “Companies are ready to go to Costa Rica, they are just waiting for the board to approve that.”
Foreign investment in tourism, ports and telecommunications is the main driver of the Costa Rican currency, the colon. The global recession which resulted in decreased tourism and company freezing of investment funds resulted in more than a 10% slump in the colon.
“Foreign direct investment has the biggest effect on the colon because Costa Rica isn’t dependent on exports of a specific commodity with fluctuating prices,” Ruiz said. New trade agreements with China, Singapore, and the European Union should bolster investment back to the $2 billion level seen in 2008.
The goal, according to Ruiz, is to increase exports via trade agreements to 84%, in order to “send a long-term message, especially in lean times.”
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