Costa Rica:

• Area: 51,000 sq. km
• Capital: San Jose
• Ports in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
• Less than 240 km between the two coasts
• Strategic Location: At the center of the Americas
• Time zone similar time central USA
• 2:50 hour flight to Miami
• Duty-free access to US Through the ICC

Strategic Market Access:

• Free access taxes:
  • United States of America through the ICC
  • Mexico Canada
  • Central America
  • Chile
  • Dominican Republic
• By signing
  • Panama
  • United States
• Preferential Access
• Europe and Asia through the GSP
• Letters of Intent
• Trinidad & Tobago

Political Stability:

Tradition of peace and stability

Government

• Over a hundred years of democracy
• 3 independent powers
• Periods presidential 4 years

Population:

• Population 2007: 4.1 million
• 15 to 35 years: 34.2%
• Workforce 2003: 1.7 million
• Unemployment in July 2003: 6.7%
• Underemployment July 2003: 8.3%
• System universal health and education
• Pillars for national stability
• 6.5% of GDP devoted to education

Population statistics:

• Life expectancy: 78.1 years
• Percentage of households with drinking water: 95%
• Access to telephone services: 92%
• Percentage of households with electricity: 92%
• Coverage of public health services: 90%
• Infant mortality similar to industrialized countries: 9 1000

Education:

• Universal, free and compulsory since 1870 (the first in Latin America)
• Elementary schools focused not only on reading and writing
• Laboratories computing 50% of primary schools and 100% of the secondary
• Teaching English in 50% of schools
• Training centers:
  • Technical Colleges
  • Foundations university
  • INA Free Training spot
  • CEFOF: Centre to train coaches
  • Universities including HBS / INCAE: 50 (46 private, public 4)
  • R & D centers globally recognized

Workforce:

• Fast learning
• High productivity
• Pro workplace: non-union (Solidarismo)

What they say ...

"Costa Rica continues to be for us a strategic location and our best products are manufactured here. I think that speaks for itself. "
Paul Otellini, Intel Corporation President and COO

"The significant investment made by the government and people of Costa Rica in education and infrastructure, have made the country an excellent location for manufacturing high-quality products."
Bourns Gordon, CEO Burns Inc.

"From the home of the project, I found benefits such as an abundant supply of highly educated manpower, and easily motivated capacitable, eager to demonstrate their skills. A stable government, good infrastructure, a positive environment for business and a quality of life that is not found elsewhere in the world. "
Greg Crane, CEO, Inamed Costa Rica

Attractive Investment Environment:

• Foreigners have no restrictions on the ownership and can lead business activities freely
• Foreigners have equal constitutional rights and obligations
• Free repatriation of capital or funds
• Laws of intellectual property according to guidelines of the WTO

Incentives for Investment:

• Minimum Investment:
  • $ 150,000 within industrial park
  • $ 2,000,000 out of industrial park
  
  
• Possibility of sale to exporters within the country and up to 25% of production in the local market.


• Outside the metropolitan area provides:
  • Training program subsidized
  • Rate preferential electricity

Regime Refining Assets:

• Suspension of 100% import duties on:
  • Raw materials
  • Components
  • Packing materials and packaging
  • Machinery and equipment
  • Not applicable minimum amount of investment
  • Payment proportional tax sales to Central American markets


• Procedure:
  • Apply PROCOMER
  • Registration with the General Customs Directorate

Great Potential:

• 3rd place within the Potential of Technology Leaders according to the Human Development Report of the United Nations, 2001.
• The leader in high-tech exports (2001).
• One of the six countries most successful in attracting and utilization of FDI according to the UNCTAD World Investment Report, 2002.

Infrastructure:

• Industrial Parks


• Areas designated for businesses under Zone


• Property administered by the private sector


• Available services:
  • Customs
  • Health
  • Security
  • Maintenance
  • Nursery
  • Garbage removal, etc.


• Water and Electricity:
  • Availability of abundant water
  • Electricity sufficient and reliable
  • Hydroelectric, geothermal and others.
  • Installed capacity of 1,701 MW
  • Approximate cost: 7 cents to $ 11 per kW / hour fare Industrial
  • Rate average total consumption / kW / hour
  • Mains power redundant


• Transportation
  • Ports on both coasts
  • Service 24 lines maritime cargo
  • Main Airport located 15 kilometers from San Jose
  • Rates competitive shipping to the USA, Europe and Asia
  • Road network of 35,705 km. (22,186 miles)


• Telecommunications
  • Marked direct World
  • Digital Services
  • Network fiber optic redundant
  • Direct access through fiber optic cables by Maya 1 and ARCOS

Quality of Life:

San Jose is a city with the best quality of life in Latin America according to the Intelligence Unit of The Economist "(2002) The index was 22% below the average of the study (27.3%) and well below the regional average of 35.6% This study also highlights Costa Rica as the country with democracy stronger and uninterrupted.

Assistance Free Cinde:

• Assistance to investors from its offices in New York, California and Costa Rica
• Active promotion of foreign investment, local support services and post establishment
• Support for new projects and reinvestment

Costa Rica in brief:

• Workforce educated, skilled, capacitable easily at a reasonable cost
• Stability social, political and economic
• Guarantees legal predictability and economic freedom
• Strategic location in the center of the Americas, with hours similar to the slot in central U.S.
• Infrastructure to direct for export
• Preferential access to major markets
• Incentives attractive
• Companies worldwide recognition in the country
• Attendance professional free by CINDE