Costa Rica Investment Overview

Virgin tropical rain forests, beautiful beaches, amazing wildlife, and the friendliest people you will ever find are just a few of the reasons that more and more people are turning to Costa Rica as their tropical destination. The fDi, a division of the Financial Times, declared Costa Rica the top tourism location of the future in Latin America in 2019, reinforcing Costa Rica’s reputation as a haven not only for nature lovers but also for foreign investment. Its proven track record, qualified workforce, and solid infrastructure are some of the draws that have this land continuously breaking records in foreign investment and paving the way for sustainable development. 

Foreign Investment Record

The Costa Rican government goes to great lengths to encourage investment within its borders. Following The Free Trade Zone Regime, a tax exemption plan that grants companies located in free zones a variety of tax exemptions in imports and capital, companies have chosen Costa Rica as an investment site and after years of operating successfully have undergone important expansions.

Costa Rica has been named the “Silicon Valley of the Americas,” with many companies in the field of high technology, product assembly, heavy manufacturing, and medical manufacturing investing at a tremendous rate. Sykes, Amazon, HP, Intel, Bayer, VMware, Align, Pzifer, and hundreds of others keep betting on the human capital of this land, and in 2020, amidst a world pandemic that affected the economy worldwide, the country broke previous years’ records of foreign investment by bringing in 81 new investment projects, of which 26 had to do with the expansion of already existing enterprises. According to CINDE, in 2019 it was estimated that 25% of shared services include a vast array of industries, including HR, IT, analytics, and supply chain.

Under the continuous demand of foreign investors, the state has made it a priority to decrease the time it takes to install a company. A platform called “Crea Empresa” was designed to expedite the process, ensuring that it takes a maximum period of one week to open a company, and it extends to six weeks if it’s a company that qualifies for the tax exemption of Free trade Zones. 

Moreover, foreigners have the same rights as citizens in the ownership of land. Becoming a property owner does not require citizenship nor resident status; in fact, buying a property of over $200,000 makes you eligible for an investor residency. This is one of the most frequently asked questions by clients inquiring about real estate investments, as Costa Rica is unique in providing such a stable, investment climate to foreigners. Learn more about purchasing real estate in Costa Rica and some of the legal FAQ’s.

Human Capital

Costa Rica’s qualified workforce is the main force driving the success of its development. It boasts some of the best literacy rates of the region with 98% of its population being literate and hosts some of the best academic institutions as well.  The University of Costa Rica, one of the most prominent higher education institutions of the country ranked in The Times Higher Education and is the only one in Central America to be included in the list. Other international, higher education institutions have chosen Costa Rica as the ideal destination for human capital development, including EARTH University, The University for Peace, and the INCAE Business School. The Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica (TEC), a university specializing in STEM careers, designed the first-of-its-kind master’s degree program in Medical Devices Design in Latin America, in partnership with the University of Minnesota. 

Costa Rica has become a regional leader in the expansion of access to education in Latin America, by being one of the first countries that made primary education universal. As the country is aware that its biggest resource is its talented, savvy, creative, and highly educated workforce, the government invests 14% of its expenditures towards education, which is nearly double of the investment of other countries that comprise the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

There are a host of initiatives potentiating the talent of Costa Ricans and working to pair it with the existing needs within different sectors. This host of programs are designed to partner with local and international agencies and multinational companies to enhance skills like innovation and multilingualism in order to achieve growth based on collaboration and create talent for the future.

The results of these efforts have been positive. The Global Competitiveness Report from The World Economic Forum in 2019 indicated that Costa Rica was the number one country in Latin America regarding digital skills and quality of education. The World Intellectual Property also ranked it number one in Latin America for innovation outputs in 2020, and the English Proficiency Index also placed the country as number one in Central America for non-native English speaking skills. 

Infrastructure

Costa Rica is being presented to the world as an example of how to encourage healthy growth and economic prosperity while embracing and protecting all the natural beauty; one of its biggest resources. In terms, Costa Rica possesses Central America's finest and most advanced telecommunications infrastructure. 

The coverage for internet services has increased dramatically since the telecommunications sector was opened in 2007, and it is estimated that currently, 88% of the population has access to internet services. It is also estimated that the internet penetration of mobile networks reached 97% in 2017. ISDN access, fiber-optic networks, and wi-max are available, offering companies SDSL connections of up to 155 Mbps. 

Moreover,  99% of its energy comes from renewable sources including geothermal, eolic, and hydroelectric. It is also the only country that has successfully reverted deforestation by turning 52% of its territory into forests.

Facilitating business and leisure in Costa Rica is the increased air travel both within the country and internationally. International flights are continually opening and expanding every day with both of its  International Airports welcoming all visitors. The Juan Santa María International Airport receives around 820 flights per week, whereas the Daniel Oduber International Airport receives close to 165 flights per week according to the ICT.  They serve 27 different flight companies and 39 international destinations, including some of the most important cities in North America and Europe. 

Costa Rica also hosts three ports; one located in the Pacific and two in the Caribbean. They were included in the Latin American ranking for volume, reaching 36th and 12th place respectively. In addition to this, the container terminal in Moín has the capacity for up to 2.5 million TEU’S (unit equivalent to 20feet)