SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Costa Rica is fast becoming a one-stop solution for global business operations and investment. Thanks to the country’s talented and tech-savvy human capital, stable democratic government, and unparalleled free-trade zone incentives, dozens of serious multinationals have already set up shop on its tropical shores.
Corporations currently conducting multi-level operations from Costa Rica include big names like Amazon, Bayer, and P&G, in addition to highly specialized health and MedTech device manufacturers, IT firms, and new wave technology providers, among a wide gamut of others.
Companies looking to migrate operations or set up satellite offices in Costa Rica are matched with local service providers that fulfill any and all national requirements. These include meeting legal and bureaucratic requirements, filling staffing needs, and establishing human resource services to facilitate employee integration and launch successful operations.
“What’s more, through the country’s Export Promotion Agency, PROCOMER, and the Essential COSTA RICA licensing protocol, local enterprises providing support to incoming businesses are previously vetted to ensure their products and services meet rigorous national standards of excellence, quality, sustainability, innovation, and national origin.
“We have evolved from providing accounting services to seven countries with 15 people to supporting 100 percent of our operations in America -except Brazil- through higher added value services and an internal culture of innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement,” says Bayer’s administrative director SSC, Daniela Petig.
Perhaps the country’s biggest draw for direct foreign investment, however, is its diversified Free Trade Zone Regime. On behalf of the Costa Rican government, qualifying companies are granted a robust set of tax incentives and benefits—as low as zero percent in some cases. And some 26 free-trade zone office centers, manufacturing plants, and industrial parks are situated in and outside of the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) ready to receive incoming companies.
There are four types of companies eligible for the Free Trade Zone System Regime. 1.) Export services companies with over 50 percent of services exported internationally; 2.) Scientific Research Firms; 3.) Companies from strategic sectors operating outside of GAM; and 4.) Significant Supplier businesses – providing at least 40 percent of their product/service sales to Free Trade Zone companies. Those entities wishing to set up operations outside of GAM perimeters often enjoy greater benefits and incentives.
At the end of the day, Costa Rican territory is fertile for business operative success, no matter what the industry. For more information on how Costa Rica can meet your company’s off-shore operational needs, visit EsencialCostaRica.com
