Colombia’s Free Trade Zones are
Booming: Tax rates are not the only incentives
Point
Roberts WA, NEW YORK, NY – July 21, 2015- Investorideas.com, a global news
source covering leading sectors including Latin America releases the first in a
series of articles on their recent trip to Colombia PROCOLOMBIA,
the government’s promotion agency organized a four day trip to showcase the ongoing
transformation in Colombia and to show how global businesses are taking
advantage of the many Tax Free Zones and the skilled labor offered.
We
visited the Tax Free Zone of Rionegro and talked with Carlos A. Mesa Posada,
Sara Valderrama Zapata and also had the opportunity to meet with two companies
doing business there; Unisys (NYSE:UIS) and YachtCat.
Read this news in full at http://www.investorideas.com/news/2015/main/07211.asp
*Office of Tax Free Zone of
Rionegro, Colombia
*Entrance to Tax Free Zone of
Rionegro
There are currently 771 companies operating in Free Trade
Zones in Colombia, most of which are industrial. The Tax Free Zones all
offer the same tax rates and similar benefits but most companies choose based
on geographic location.
The
results speak to the heart of Colombia’s economy with over 50,000 direct jobs
as a result.
One
of the biggest values we heard over and over again, in particular for US
companies, was the qualified skilled labor available and benefits of a very
similar culture.
In
addition to the usual access to banks, customs and airports, unique advantages
at the Rionegro location are the abundant green spaces, the ability to purchase
electricity in bulk at discounted prices and the SENA learning and training
center.
Sectors located there include textile, chemistry, food,
plastics, cosmetics and services. They are also seeing an increased interest in
data centers.
When asked how they balance the priority of dominant green
spaces with plastic and chemical companies on site, we were told that there are
very clear and strict policies on how they manage waste and there is a very
strong environmental commitment. Dangerous waste is sent to an authorized handler.
They also noted that one of the qualifications to set up in the Rionegro
location is to disclose everything that may potentially be hazardous to the
land or water.
We
met with Unisys CEO and PR Director for Latam. Unisys has service centers in
Bogota and Rionegro, with both locations connected and supporting each
other. The location in Rionegro employs
350-370 people. The operations provide IT support, support services and processing
for one of the largest banks in Colombia. They also provide support to human resources
for customers.
Most
evident was the high security features deployed at the location. Unisys uses
state of the art biometrics including, fingerprint, multi-factor and soon to be
used is their own iris system. All of
their biometric technology is developed by Unisys.
When asked ‘why here?’, Unisys said first and foremost they were able to provide services to both inside and outside of Colombia with tax benefits and competitive price benefits.
Unisys
has been in Colombia for 60 years and has clients with an average relationship
of 15-20 years - some have been with them 40 years. In spite of some obstacles,
they see Colombia as very stable politically and financially.
One
of the biggest benefits they stressed was the “access to high qualified staff
with a high level of education, in particular engineers.”
They
also said they see Latin Americans “think more outside the box and they are
more innovative.”
Another notable advantage is the time-zone; convenient and compatible
with the U.S.
The second company on the tour at Rionegro was YachtCat, a company making custom-order large yachts.
The company employs 45 people and has goals to grow its business. Currently
they are working on a $2 Million custom luxury yacht bound for Pensacola,
Florida when finished.
The CEO told us that he located his company there for the
great engineer and hand labor skills, good weather and that the cost of labor
and production was beneficial to his business.
YachtCat is the only business of its kind in Colombia with
its single focus being large yachts.
YachtCat, http://www.yachtcat.com,
one of the companies visited at Free Trade Zone of Rionegro
*Colombia’s Free Trade Zones
Video: Investorideas.com
meets with Zona Franca De Rionegro, Colombia. www.zonafrancarionegro.com
About PROCOLOMBIA:
PROCOLOMBIA
is the government promotion agency in charge of promoting trade, investment,
tourism and country brand. For more information, please visit www.procolombia.co.
Recent interview with ProColombia's
President Maria Claudia Lacouture:
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