Costa Rica Welcomes Investors from Three Continents

International meeting brings together in one place, 23 multinational companies based in the country, 79 suppliers and Costa Rican institutions

The event is the first in Latin America that is made carbon free and includes art activities within its format

Costa Rica becomes the first Latin American country that makes an international event dedicated exclusively to the promotion of investments by means of an official encounter like  Costa Rica Investment World  (CRIW), which simultaneously is a challenge developed by the Foreign Trade Corporation of Costa Rica (PROCOMER).

This April 14th and 15th, 102 investors from 70 international companies from America, Europe and Asia will meet at the Ramada Plaza Herradura, contacted through the 15 trade promotion offices of PROCOMER abroad, and who also have great interest in doing business in this country. As well there will be 23 multinational companies based in the country and 79 local suppliers.

The Minister of Foreign Trade, Marco Vinicio Ruiz, highlighted the importance of his international event, as it is a national proposal which main focus is intended to  position Costa Rica  as an emerging market for investment in high value-added features, which facilitate the settlement of international investment and promotion of the diversified Costa Rican offer worldwide based on commitment, talent, security and sustainability.

Precisely to meet this purpose, the event was designed considering the strengths that the country offers to the investors, such as peace, democracy, political stability, high education and skill  level, quality of life, health services, and global prestige, high profitability, among others.

The sectors promoted at the CRIW within its operation scheme, are those related to medical devices, research and development, green technologies, services, electronics and industrial goods. “For Costa Rica the accomplishment of an event of this magnitude represents a potential source of production chains, as well as, greater flows of investment in strategic sectors and remote areas of the country, also contributes to the further promotion of the reinvestment, co-investment and connection to the country of

CONFERENCES ON CRIW

Wednesday April 14

4:00 p.m.  Investing in Costa Rica: the key players.

Speakers: Mr. Tom Stephan, Vice President

of Business Development BeamOne,

Mr.  Murray  Dean,  Senior  Director

International Tax of Intel and Mr. Rodrigo

Cal, IBM General Manager of Costa Rica.

(Moderator: Mr. Juan Carlos Barahona,

INCAE consultant).

Thursday April 15

8:00 a.m.  8:00 a.m. Costa Rica: the site chosen by

the developers of green technologies:

Speakers: Mr. Jerome T. Mahone, Executive

Director appointed in Rochester IT,

Mr. Herman Delatte, Big Bang Ventures

partner, Mr. Samuel Viroslav, Vice President

Group Ecoenergía, Mr. Juan de Bedout, a

member of GE and Ms. Andrea Traversone,

a member of the board Amadeus.

(Moderator: Gustavo André Jimenez,

consultant INCAE).

4:00 p.m.  The selection of sites to operate R & D:

in search of talent.

Speakers:  Speakers: Mr. Franklin Chang,

CEO of Ad Astra, Mr. Felipe Ortega, general

manager of HP Research Center Costa

Rica, and G. Balakrishnan Iyer, Manager of

Business Development, Energy

Infrastructure of GE Global Research.

(Moderator: Dr. Luis Sanz, INCAE

consultant).

the companies that have already invested in it, said Emmanuel Hess, General

Manager PROCOMER.

For the organization of the Costa Rica Investment World, PROCOMER received

a  premium  sponsorship from the Hotel Ramada Plaza Heradura, Costa Rica

Bank (BCR), Panel-Tec, Clima Ideal and the Instituto Costarricense de

Electricidad (ICE) and silver sponsorship from the STT Group companies and

G4S.

Also, institutions like the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX), the Coalition for

Development Initiatives (CINDE) and various enterprise chambers collaborated

in the promotion of the event. Other organizations that are present in the CRIW

are the Secretaria Técnica Nacional Ambiental (SETENA), Immigration,

National Register and Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS).

What offers the CRIW?

The international meeting in the

first instance has an extensive

fair area with 108 exhibition

stands, through which the

investors can see in one place

the supply chain that the country

offers. This thanks to the display

of goods and services developed

by multinationals and local

vendors at the event.

In addition, the CRIW has a

business center with professional

advice, relating to areas such as

free trade zone, logistics,

environment, taxes, registration

and sustainability.

During the two days of meetings,

conferences with experts in

several related topics such as

research and development, green

technologies and success stories

in terms of linkages (see

attached) will take place.

As part of the most important actions of this great event we will also have an

exclusive trading center for the development of very interesting investment

agreements between employers and international companies invited, settle in

Costa Rica.

New Features

One of the biggest innovations in the CRIW is being a  carbon-free activity,

thanks to the reduction of the vehicle fleet emissions used in the event, the

fossil fuels used during the investors´ trips, greater electricity savings and better

management and use of air conditioning and solid waste, among others.

All this, with the collaboration of the Coca Cola Company and its program

“Viviendo positivamente” / “Living positively” whose actions are aimed at

protecting the environment.

Another of the attractions is the creation of a mural of 5 x 3 meters, designed by

the national artist Jean Sagot, who will paint during the two day activity piece of

art, inspired in the strategic sectors promoted by the international event and the

four axes that revolve around it (talent, commitment, security and sustainability).

Also, the event features a 3-minute video created by the New Kingdom Studios

production, in which over 3 thousand pieces of Lego show from a human, fun

and different perspective why Costa Rica is an ideal destination for investment.

This video was made possible thanks to the collaboration of Universal, that

being a 100% national company with over 83-years of history is also committed

to this effort helping in the growth and development of the country and

generating more jobs for Costa Ricans.

PROCOMER also designed for this event and, to protect the environment, a

USB device entry badge to the CRIW, as a storage tool for background

materials and agenda for the investors invited to the country, a tool that made

possible the use of no paper in the activity and contributing too, to the recycling

process.

BACKGROUND

The Costa Rica Investment World is the successor event Suppliers Exchange Forum

(SEF), which editions organized by PROCOMER were held out in 2005 and 2007,

for the promotion of national companies with large foreign companies under a focus

only chains productive.

For more information about CRIW visit www.crinvestmentworld.com or follow the

event via Twitter.