The Diplomat
The Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) will promote the participation of Spanish companies in the ‘Invest in Paraguay’ Investment Forum, to be held in Paraguay on 8 and 9 September.
The Forum, which will be attended by the Paraguayan President, Mario Abdó, will take place at the CONMEBOL convention centre (near the city of Asunción), and has been organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, together with the Paraguayan Investment and Export Network (REDIEX) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
From Spain, CEOE, in coordination with the Paraguayan Embassy in Madrid, has favoured the presence of representatives of Spanish companies so that they can learn about the business opportunities offered by the South American country, in what is considered the most important investment promotion event that has been organised in Paraguay in recent years.
Paraguayan and foreign businessmen are expected to participate, and in different sessions, the main actors in the implementation of the country’s public policies on economic and commercial matters will intervene, pointing out the competitive advantages that Paraguay offers to foreign direct investment.
Among others, Luis Castiglioni, Paraguay’s Minister of Industry and Trade, and Edna Armendáriz, representative of the Inter-American Development Bank in the country, are expected to speak.
The two days will analyse, among others, aspects related to foreign direct investment as a driver of sustainable development, the promotion of triple-impact investment in Paraguay, the business climate in the country and success stories and business opportunities in sectors in evolution, such as automotive components, textiles and chemical-pharmaceuticals.
The Spanish employers’ association stresses that the macroeconomic stability, predictability and favourable conditions for business that have characterised Paraguay over the last two decades have generated an increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) at a sustained and favourable rate. This trend has been maintained even in the presence of severe disruptive processes such as the real estate crisis of 2008 and the pandemic caused by the coronavirus.
It also indicates that in the last ten years foreign direct investment (FDI) has doubled, and recalls that the latest report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) places Paraguay among the five largest recipients of foreign investment in the region in 2020. For its part, the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) reports that the stock of FDI increased from USD 6331 million in 2019 to USD 6881 million in 2020, which represented an increase of 8.9% in times of enormous difficulty.
On the other hand, the Economic Climate Indicator (ICE) in Latin America, prepared by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), has placed Paraguay among the best positioned economies in the region for business generation in the last year. At the end of 2021, Paraguay led the ranking with 133.3 points.
CEOE stresses that this situation is linked to public policies focused on promoting better conditions for investment, through the strengthening of special incentive regimes, the streamlining of processes for opening companies, the automation of procedures linked to the business universe and trade facilitation in general.
