Costa Rica Rising: Expanded incentives for FDI open up new investment opportunities in non-traditional cities

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa Rica's rapid rise in the last decade to become a global hub for foreign direct investment is spurring a new wave of investment opportunities in trending sectors, boosted by an expanded tax incentives package.

Costa Rica is already home to more than 275 high-tech multinational companies like Intel, Amazon, HP Enterprise, P&G, Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical and Abbott. The country has been successful in fostering a competitive business climate, open to global trade. Rated safest country in Latin America, it focuses its young, bilingual workforce on education, ranked #1 in Latin America by the WEF which also acknowledged it as #1 in innovation, production process sophistication, availability of engineers and quality of researchers in LATAM.

Often concentrated on the Greater Metro Area, FDI now expands to 5 non-traditional regions of Costa Rica. Investment projects in biotech, clean energy research and components manufacturing, logistics & services, agro processing for food and non-food products, MRO & FBO, and premium goods manufacturing within these regions, can take advantage of expanded incentives under Costa Rica´s Free Trade Zone.   

Eligible companies can enjoy as low as 0% income tax for 12-year renewable periods, as well as non-expiring 0% taxes on custom duties on imports/exports; withholding tax on royalties, fees and dividends; interest income; sales tax on local purchases of goods or services; and stamp duty. Companies also enjoy 0% taxes for a 10-year period on: property taxes, property transfer taxes and operating licenses.

Costa Rica's trademark for sustainability allows companies to gain an ROI on the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit. Over 90% of the country´s energy comes from renewable sources with 99.43% of national electricity coverage and an energy architecture performance that is ranked 11^th globally by the Word Economic Forum.

"The Upsurge of New Investment Opportunities in Rising Cities," a publication by the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), highlights these incentives in 5 designated regions and the 6 trending industry sectors. A copy of the document is available digitally upon request.

For a digital copy of "The Upsurge of New Investment Opportunities in Rising Cities," and investment sector questions please email:

Ms. Pilar Madrigal
Director of International Strategy
CINDE
[email protected]
212-984-0631

For media information, visit www.cinde.org.

SOURCE CINDE