Forgot your password?
How to Easily Avoid the Alcohol Scandal in Costa Rica
Investment Climate
Costa Rica Investment Climate Analysis
Costa Rica has a great investment Climate given the fact that foreigners enjoy the same ownership rights nationals do. In addition Costa Rica offers some generous FDI (foreign direct investment) incentives especially in the Real Estate sector. .....
Costa Rica is the most stable democracy in Central and South America. Costa Rica has had no military since 1948, and is under the defense umbrella of the United States. Costa Ricans (Ticos) enjoy one of the highest literacy rates in the world, health-care is provided to them putting no major strain on the government.
Costa Rica offers one of the best offshore investment possibilities in the world (together with countries like Belize, Cayman Islands, Panama). With extremely low real estate taxes of only a fraction of one percent, together with U.S. title insurance (StewartTitle) makes investing in Costa Rica safe and headache-free. The coast lines, especially the Pacific Coast is mainly owned by foreign investors like North Americans, Canadians, Germans, French, Italians, Spanish, British, Swiss, and many more. Foreign residents equal approximately 5-10% of the total population of about 3.7 million.
There are many establishments run by foreigners mostly by North Americans and Europeans, offering a variety of businesses adding to the diversity of Costa Rica. Internet services are wide spread throughout the country explaining one of the highest per capita rates for people with access to computers. The infrastructure is constantly improving, and one can really see it. All ready the bridge at Gulfe de Nicoya is finished, cutting the driving time from the Central Valley and South/Central Pacific into the Guanacaste province (our area of specialization) drastically. Transportation services like taking a really cheap Bus, a little airplane that can land all over Costa Rica, a rental car or motorcycle are all readily available.
Sixty volcanoes with six still active and a driving time from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean under six hours makes Costa Rica one of the most diverse places to live in the world. Costa Rica offers together with areas in and surrounding the Amazon and Cambodia, the largest diversity of life in the world.
Jaguars,the greatest variety of butterflies and orchids in the world!
Costa Rica
"Living there is experiencing constant beauty in all its forms
& annihilating any form of boredom!"
For detailed information on Real Estate Investments we refer you to our long background in Real Estate market assessment in Florida, where we are operating in since 1982, to give you a good understanding of Real Estate Investments in general which are applicable to Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica those conditions change due to possible greater market fluctuations, involving little more risk but surely also possible greater returns than the U.S. Real Estate market, which is the most liable economy for correct assessment.
Believe me you will, if not already familiar with Real Estate, gain a great understanding of Real Estate Investments by reading a thesis conducted on our company. Enjoy!
for detailed information on this topic and much more of concern can be found by visiting :
Costa Rica has a great resemblance with Florida in the late 60s early 70s which made us choose Costa Rica as the prime spot of the early 21st Century. Location and timing is everything and we know we found it.
Consider the following The following example reflects a long-term appreciation and the corresponding gain: A home was purchased in 1959 for US$ 10,000. Before 2000, this home (in Sarasota, Florida) had a market value of US $75,000. Thus the average annual appreciation comes to US$ 1,756.76 or 17.57 % of the purchase price. If this home would have been leased and the cash flow would have been reinvested, the present value (<2000) of the home would be US$ 234,000 based on an average NOI (Net Operating Income) of 7.5 %, to be seen in the following diagram:
Many have and are taken advantage of the great business opportunities Costa Rica has to offer. Intel Corporation for example established their major microchip production plant in Costa Rica, the most politically stable country in Central America. Costa Rica has proven attractive to investors for its relatively open investment and trade policies. Laws governing private investments are the same for nationals as for foreigners. The government supports free trade and international competition.
A clear plus is that foreign investors has been the country's income tax laws, which allow complete exoneration of taxes on an average of 8 to 10 years, and 50 percent exoneration for 4 more years depending on the investment. There is virtually no screening of foreign investment in most areas . CINDE's U.S. office in New York aggressively promotes Costa Rica as an investment destination. A big attraction for tourism-type investments is the current incentive law, which offers a 12-year income tax exemption on non-distributed profits, land tax exemption, duty-free entry to yachts, sailboats and certain motor vehicles for use in tourist transportation. Additionally, Costa Rica has one of the strongest U.S. dollar reserves in Central America ($1 billion). It also has advanced electric and technological industries and Free Zones continue to be one of the backbones of Costa Rica's export and investment promotion strategies, contributing significantly to local economic growth. Investment in the Free Zones totaled around $500 million, mainly from U.S. businesses. Companies currently under the Free Zone Corporation have close to 100 percent exemption on raw materials for export on most products. Most of Costa Rica's export incentives have been undergoing reforms to serve the international tendencies, and are on a par with tourism development.
Costa Rica is a member of the World Trade Organization and the Central America Common Market, and has investment treaties with Switzerland, Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Costa Rica being part of CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) offers lots of opportunities.
There are several ways to determine the Investment Climate of a Country. Johannes Mayr of Mayr Consulting has conducted the ICRG and 1986 Country Risk Assement Models to assess the Risk of a Foreign Firm investing in Costa Rica
