COUNTRY PROFILE: The Secret Behind Chile’s Thriving Outsourcing Industry
January 18th, 2010By Tarun George
Chile may not be as big as Brazil or have as many IT professionals who speak English as they have in Mexico, but that hasn’t deterred global sourcing leaders in this Southern Cone country from putting a lot of muscle behind a thriving outsourcing industry.
Over the past few years, Chile has gained important momentum from an aggressive government campaign to attract high profile companies, with high tech outsourcing needs. With the triumphant win by right-wing billionaire Sebastian Pinera in the recent president election, experts see Chile continuing to offer a stable and welcoming investment climate for multinational firms.
Since 2006, President Michelle Bachelet has used generous incentives and government support to make the country the main nearshore destination in Latin America. And it’s been paying off – Chile ranked 8th in the world in the 2009 A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index. The index measures 50 countries as offshore destinations, and placed Chile ahead of all its LATAM counterparts.
Some figures showing Chile’s prominence:
On December 15th 2009, Chile was invited as a full member of the OECD, a group of the most developed nations. It will be the first country in Latin America to join.
The Doing Business 2009 index (World Bank) ranked Chile as the most “business friendly” country in Latin America
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Chile 15th in its Future Leaders in Global Offshoring 2005 report, above others in the region
Chile has the lowest foreign currency risk of any country in the region, and is rated A+ by Standard and Poor’s.
Chile Swings Right with Pinera Win
January 18th, 2010The failure of the governing coalition in Chile to win Sunday’s presidential election was as predictable as the forthcoming failure of the British Labour party to win re-election in the spring. It is rooted in similar causes: tedium, irritation and dissatisfaction on the part of the electorate, and division, incompetence and intellectual bankruptcy from the Concertación alliance (of socialists and Christian Democrats) that has ruled the country since the overthrow of General Pinochet.
Maybe the result will not be too bad for Chile, although it will have a baneful impact on Latin America, which had been moving in a more progressive direction in the past decade. Sebastián Piñera, the new president, is a wealthy businessman but a political lightweight, and he will struggle to disassociate his government from its powerful …
