A select group of innovative Chilean small and medium-sized companies will be in New York to exhibit a range of new and sophisticated products and services in the areas of IT, health and biotechnology.
NEW YORK, Dec. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical devices, biotechnology and IT products and solutions are the areas that five Chilean companies will present to United States investors and the business community in New York, with the aim of exploring business and investment opportunities.
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A promising group of successful Chilean Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) was selected to showcase their companies for the event "Chile SME Investment Opportunities", organized by the Chilean Trade Commission in New York – ProChile; Endeavour, the global leader in high-impact entrepreneurship; and the Latin American Venture Capital Association – LAVCA. The event will be held on Wednesday December 8th 2010, at 4:45 pm at Puro Chile (161 Grand Street, New York).
The five selected companies are at the forefront of advancements in Chile, representing the growth sectors of biotechnology, medical devices, water treatment, and IT. Many of these new companies are expanding exponentially and hold patents internationally for their exclusive products and services. The firms are Aguamarina (biotechnology), Gled (IT), Surikat (medical devices), Wiseconn (IT – high tech) and Woodtech (IT - high tech). The selection was made by ProChile and Latinnovators, The Source of Ground Breaking Ventures from Latin America
The Trade Commissioner of Chile in New York Alejandro Cerda commented that "this gathering is a unique opportunity to show a new type of Chilean company to the United States Market. Small and medium enterprises in new technologies are driving a lot of the innovation in Chile, and we are excited to promote these efforts under the 'Chile' brand, bringing to the US products with high quality standards, innovation and R+D, and great potential to successfully enter the US market".
This first show of Chilean initiatives in the US is supported by significant American organizations such as LAVCA and Endeavor. Linda Rottenberg, Co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, said that "Endeavor is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with ProChile to showcase two Endeavor Entrepreneurs at this New York event. Woodtech and Aguamarina are both wonderful examples of high-impact entrepreneurs: Companies that are proving their ability to scale, create jobs and contribute to Chile's economic development. In addition to the mentoring and coaching Endeavor provides the companies, we hope to help accelerate their growth through access to sources of smart capital at events like these".
Chile's private equity and venture capital environment is number one in the LAVCA 2010 Scorecard, which ranks 12 major economies in Latin America and the Caribbean on 13 factors including, laws on PE/VC fund formation, capital market development and feasibility of local exits, entrepreneurship, corporate governance, et al.
Cate Ambrose, President and Executive Director of LAVCA, noted that "the growth of an entrepreneurial community and nontraditional sectors such as IT, biotechnology and medical devices will be instrumental in attracting additional sources of capital such as early stage/seed and growth equity. These five companies represent the type of innovation that will continue to strengthen Chile's investment opportunities. We've also seen strong commitment from both public and private institutions in Chile to expand new programs and fund the development of a domestic venture capital industry".
The Chilean economy is recognized for its sustained growth, public policies with responsible leadership, and openness to international markets and its solid institutions. Foreign investment in Chile has reflected these conditions. Through November 2010, Chile registered a 201% increase in foreign capital inflows ($13,257 million US dollars) compared to 2009.
Resulting from the many trade agreements that Chile has signed with different countries in recent years - 20 trade agreements with 56 countries such as China, Japan, the United States, the European Union and others - Chilean companies have a unique degree of access to markets encompassing more than 4.1 billion consumers worldwide.
The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Chile as the number one Latin American country to which to do business in 2010-2014. In addition, the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reports that in 2009 Chile ranked first in the region as an FDI recipient relative do GDP, and second only to Brazil as a net recipient.
ProChile, the Trade Commission of Chile, is part of the General Directorate of International Economic Affairs of Chile's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is responsible for implementing and enhancing Chile's trade policy. ProChile's mission is to provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises, helping to encourage and diversify exports of Chilean products and services by increasing the number of export markets and companies.
ProChile has a global network of 56 trade offices and representatives strategically located in 43 countries, covering more than 90 percent of the destination markets for Chile. For more information please visit www.prochile.us
*More information: Marcela Barrientos @ [email protected], 212-207-3266 X 202 and in the website of the event http://www.prochile.us/events/chile-sme-investment-opportunities
SOURCE ProChile
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