Saturday, October 27, 2012

12.75% pa Interest Eco-Development Loans


NatureWalk has just launched an excellent opportunity, Eco Development Loans.


The highlights are as follows:

  1. Term 12 months or 18 months
     
  2. Interest return of 12% per annum on loans of up to US$100,000 and 12.75% per annum on loans of over $100,000
     
  3. Interest is prepaid for the full term. That's right PREPAID to the investor
     
  4. Capital repayment is in 12 or 18 months
     
  5. Loans are underwritten by development land at a 38% loan to value ratio.
     
  6. Development land is held in trust for the investor by Latin American Title company until interest and capital have been paid.
     
  7. Minimum investment US$30,000.
     
  8. Funds paid to and managed by Latin American Title Company  

 
Or read more and get more information at  http://www.costaricainvest.ie/Eco_Development_Investment.html

If this program sounds like it may be of interest, act now and take advantage. Just drop us an e mail or give us a call and I will get a prospectus to you.

This offer is strictly time limited and will close 21 days from today or sooner if sold out early.


Don't let this opportunity pass you by. E mail or give us a call on USA +1-866-990-1123 (toll free) or Europe +353-1-272-4184.








Thursday, October 25, 2012

Magnificent Trophy Home in Santa Ana



Magnificent trophy home in Villa Real

Price US$2.45 million

For more information e mail james@costaricainvest.ie or call us on USA +1-866-990-1123 (toll free) or Europe +353-1-272-4184

Monday, October 22, 2012

Refer your friends




The time may or may not be right for you to invest in Costa Rica, but you may have friends and colleagues or friends of friends who are seeking their ideal property in Costa Rica right now.

The Costa Rica Invest Referral Program for NatureWalk allows you to help your friends to find their ideal property and you can benefit financially too.

In fact your financial benefit from helping your friends or friends of friends may help finance your dream property in Costa Rica.


How does it work?

Our program is simple and straightforward. Visit our friends referral page


There you’ll see a description and straightforward agreement for involvement in our program. Fill out your details and enter the confirmation code and you're ready to go.

Think about which of your friends and colleagues might be interested in a dream home in Costa Rica, send them some details about NatureWalk (we’ll send you some links you can send to them once you have registered)

Send us your friends name, phone number and email address and we’ll contact them.

Perhaps the time might not be right for them right now, but perhaps they have some friends and colleagues who may be interested. If they wish to do so they can also register for our friends referral program. We’ll contact their friends and colleagues.


What’s in it for me?

Well firstly you may be able to help your friends find their dream property in Costa Rica.

Secondly if one of your friends buys a development lot in one of the NatureWalk developments, we’ll pay you commission. Better still if one of your friends friends buys in NatureWalk we’ll pay you  a commission. Better again if one of your friends friends friends buys in NatureWalk we’ll pay you commission and so on down to a fifth level friend.


What’s in it for my friends

Firstly you may help them find their dream home in Costa Rica

Secondly you are also giving them the opportunity to assist their friends and earn commission.


How much is the commission?

If one of your referred friends purchases in NatureWalk you'll receive 1.5% of the purchase price of the land

If one of your friends friends purchases in NatureWalk, your referred friend will receive 1.5% and you’ll receive 0.75% of the purchase price of the land.

If one of your friends friends friends purchases in NatureWalk, your friends referred friend will receive 1.5% and your referred friend will receive 0.75% and  you’ll receive 0.375% of the purchase price of the land.

And so on down to five levels.

See the table below to see the commissions payable:


Referral
Direct Referral
Second Level Referral
Third Level Referral
Fourth Level Referral
Fifth Level Referral
Commission payable to you
1.5%
0.75%
0.375%
0.1875%
0.09375%



How much might I expect to earn

Well if we take an average lot purchase of US$75,000.

If your direct referred friend purchases this lot, you will have helped your friend and you will receive 1.5% = US$1,125

If a friend of your direct referred friend purchase this lot, you will receive $562.50 (and your direct referred friend will receive US$1,125)

Third level referral you will receive US$281.25

Fourth level referral you will receive US$140.63

Fifth level referral you will receive US$70.31


When would I get paid?

You will get paid in the first week of the month following the month in which the sale closes.


How do I get paid?

We pay direct to the bank account of your choice by bank transfer, subject to a minimum transfer of US$100. For amounts less than US$100 they are rolled over into the next month.


How do I get involved?

Simply visit www.costaricainvest.ie/Refer_My_Friend.html, review the program, register your details, forward some information to your friends who are interested in Costa Rica (and let them know we’ll be in contact), send us their details and that’s it - very simple and straightforward.

Friday, October 19, 2012

A first step toward carbon neutrality

Environment Ministry officials on Wednesday presented the first phase of Costa Rica’s plan to be completely carbon-neutral by 2021.

By David Boddiger for the Tico Times

Costa Rica is the only tropical country to boast more than half of its territory is covered in forests. Officials plan to convert land used in cattle ranching and coffee farming into more forests by planting 7 million trees in coming years as part of its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2021.Lindsay Fendt


It may have been a politically ambitious pronouncement when ex-President Oscar Arias declared in 2009 – his last year in office – that Costa Rica would become the world’s first carbon-neutral country by 2021.

Other countries also declared their intentions of becoming the first carbon-neutral nation, but have since scaled back those promises or rolled back their target dates. Since 2009, observers have noted that Costa Rica likely will join them, eventually pushing back its goal by five to 10 years.

In June 2011, Arias admonished his successor, President Laura Chinchilla, and her administration for being soft on carbon neutrality (TT, July 8, 2011). Officials responded by saying the date of 2021 – the country’s 200th anniversary – wasn’t important, as long as Costa Rica committed to reaching its goal of zero net carbon emissions.

Still, in spite of setbacks in the past three years, Costa Rica is in a good position to meet those goals, once a plan is set in motion, environmental officials said this week.

On Wednesday, Environment Minister René Castro made public the first phase of the administration’s carbon-neutral strategy, which focuses on reducing emissions in two key sectors: energy and agriculture.

Following negotiations with players in both sectors, it appears the government is further along with the former than the latter.

Utopia or Reality?
Last week, environment officials and researchers participated in a forum titled “Carbon Neutrality: Utopia or Reality?” They sought to answer the question on everyone’s mind: Is carbon neutrality possible for Costa Rica?

Following that forum, a sense of optimism has spread through the Environment Ministry (MINAET) and the universities participating in the groundbreaking research required to analyze the country’s current emissions and set realistic goals to achieve zero carbon emissions. The ministry is relying on experts at the University of Costa Rica and the National University (UNA) to help design their strategy.

“The numbers in black and white show [carbon neutrality] really is possible for the country. It’s not easy, but it’s possible,” said Marianella Feoli, executive director of the University of Costa Rica’s Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible (Cooperative Fund for Sustainable Development), and a researcher collaborating with MINAET on the carbon-reduction strategy.

Costa Rica currently emits about 14.6 million tons of CO2 annually. By 2021, that number will reach 21.7 million tons, and in order for Costa Rica to reach carbon neutrality, it will have to offset or reduce emissions by 5.8 million tons in the next decade.

Based on data from the World Bank, which calculates the intensity of CO2 released per unit of production in each country, Costa Rica is one of the best countries in terms of CO2 per unit produced. According to Castro, despite economic and population growth, Costa Rica’s CO2 output per unit of production has decreased from 200 kilograms per unit to 170 kg in the past few years.

 The country has another tool: its forests. A recent study concluded that 52 percent of Costa Rica is forested, up from 21 percent in 1987 thanks to a series of policies over the decades to invest in forestry conservation. That means the country has a large percentage of new, carbon-capturing forest (31 percent in the past 25 years), Feoli said.

Continuing that trend, the Costa Rican government, in collaboration with the National Forestry Financing Fund, is working with landowners to plant 7 million trees on cattle and coffee farms. The trees eventually will be milled for the national lumber industry and replaced with new forests. Landowners are offered an attractive 6 percent, 25-year credit for the project.

Buses and taxis
The biggest shot Costa Rica has at achieving short- and mid-term goals on reducing carbon emissions is by focusing on the country’s public transport sector. Spearheading research on how to do that is Leiner Vargas, of the National University’s International Center for Economic Policy for Sustainable Development.
Carbon Neutrality 2
Popular taxi stands like this one in San José’s Central Park could be carbon-neutral in two years.
Lindsay Fendt

Plans already are formed to reduce emissions by focusing on Costa Rica’s fleet of public buses and private taxis. According to Vargas, Costa Ricans could begin to see dramatic changes in public transportation within two years, as buses and taxis are converted to zero-emission vehicles through a mixed policy that relies on market incentives and stricter emissions regulations.

“What’s going to happen is we are going to convince 20-25 percent of the [bus and taxi] fleet to move to carbon-neutral alternatives in the next two years,” Vargas told The Tico Times.

Researchers at UNA, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program and other groups, are calculating the costs involved in converting the public transportation sector to cleaner technologies, mapping areas of heaviest traffic, and building models to convince bus and taxi company owners that converting to new technologies can be profitable within six years.

On the government’s end, officials working with the Public Transportation Council (CPT) will add tougher emissions standards to concessions for bus and taxi operators, starting in January 2013. Renewing concessions will require operators to implement tougher standards on sound and air pollution, Castro said.
“The task is to design the instruments needed for taxis to really reduce or change from a gasoline-based vehicle to one that reduces the carbon footprint,” Vargas said. “If we don’t take steps to change the fleet of buses and taxis, the process [of achieving carbon neutrality] will take 200 years in the public transportation sector.”

According to an extensive cost-benefit analysis of the industry, the most profitable alternative for taxi companies is natural gas. The second-best option is liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, followed by electric or hybrid vehicles.

For buses, the structure is different: Buses rely more on fuel, especially in urban areas in heavy traffic. Natural gas and hybrid systems that combine natural gas or LPG with diesel provide the best alternatives for bus company owners, according to the cost-benefit analysis, Vargas said.

Public policy also has a vital role to play in convincing transportation company owners to make the change as quickly as possible. MINAET will spearhead that role, but a successful policy will also rely on municipalities, the CPT and the Public Works and Transport Ministry to regulate “hot spots,” where buses and taxis congregate, such as San José’s Central Park, San Juan de Dios Hospital, hotels and other areas.

Municipalities can regulate those areas as “carbon-neutral,” meaning taxi stands and bus stops can be designated for use by carbon-neutral vehicles only.

Consumers also will have a major role to play by choosing zero-emission taxis and buses and helping make them profitable for company owners.

“I can imagine a taxi with a big green frog painted on it, and a consumer deciding, ‘I’m going to take this taxi because I’m contributing to carbon neutrality,’” Vargas said.

One barrier that has contributed to transportation company owners’ reluctance to invest in cleaner buses and taxis is their higher purchase cost. According to Castro, officials are negotiating “intensely” with foreign producers of these vehicles to convince them to bring costs down, not only for buses and taxis, but also for private consumers.

Officials also are devising other economic incentives, including negotiating with national banks to offer financing at better rates for clean technology vehicles, particularly in the public transportation sector, Castro said. Private companies – including Toyota – also are laying out plans to offer more competitive prices to taxi companies on cleaner technology vehicles to meet the spike in demand as the initiative advances in coming years.

MINAET also is working with the National Oil Refinery to improve fuel standards by 2013. Officials have already eliminated a damaging and harmful additive – MMT – from national fuel supplies, and other additives such as sulfur will decline dramatically by next year.

Private vehicles
It is no secret that Costa Rica has many barriers to converting its fleet of private consumer vehicles to cleaner technology automobiles. One of the biggest barriers is a high import tax on zero-emission and hybrid vehicles.

Another barrier is culture. But researchers are convinced that once consumers grow accustomed to using cleaner-technology buses and taxis, demand for lower-emission private vehicles will increase.
“We Costa Ricans are very conservative, but if we see a taxi that functions with zero emissions, we’ll realize that our own vehicles can too,” Vargas said. “But it will be very important that older vehicles are eliminated from the market, including rural taxis and cars.”

“Eventually, we’ll have to lower the taxes that consumers pay [on cleaner-technology vehicles],” the environment minister acknowledged.

Agriculture and the future
While Costa Rica’s first step in its journey toward carbon neutrality focuses on the energy and transportation sector, the second crucial element – the agricultural sector – is facing setbacks. Negotiations with major export crop producers have sparked only limited interest, Castro said.

The biggest contributors to carbon emissions in this sector are large export-crop plantations and cattle. Fertilizer application accounts for 54 percent of emissions in the agricultural sector, according to Feoli.
Yet officials have gotten only as far as discussing cost-benefit analyses with pineapple, banana and coffee exporters, Castro said.

“Some are interested, some aren’t,” he added.

Still, what once seemed like political posturing by an outgoing president is starting to show signs of life with scattered advances, “some small, others quite visible,” Castro said.

Companies like Coopedota, a Costa Rican coffee cooperative based in Santa María de Dota, in the coffee-producing Los Santos region south of San José, which became the world’s first carbon-neutral coffee producer, may seem like small drops in the carbon-neutral bucket. But as years advance and policy begins to solidify, these actors could be remembered as pioneers, serving as models for other companies.

Coopedota became carbon neutral by reducing energy use, improving water consumption practices and generating energy from organic material formerly discarded as waste.

Another company that has made great strides on reducing emissions is Florida Ice and Farm Co., Costa Rica’s largest food and beverage company. The company recently was recognized as one of the top 16 “green” businesses in developing countries, particularly for its focus on water conservation.

The second phase of Costa Rica’s carbon-neutral plan is set for 2014-2018, and includes improvements in water treatment, more investment in renewable energies, and newer technologies for waste disposal (such as converting landfills into energy producers).

From 2018-2021, administration officials hope the country will focus on advanced energy initiatives, such as developing an “intelligent” electricity transmission and distribution grid, as well as sustainable construction and public infrastructure projects.

Said Castro: “The country will continue reducing its emissions until it reaches a point when it can’t reduce any more.”

Clear rules, consumers key to carbon-neutral goals
Leiner Vargas, of the National University’s International Center for Economic Policy for Sustainable Development, is one of the leading researchers for the government’s plan to make Costa Rica the first carbon-neutral country. The Tico Times spoke with Vargas on Wednesday about how to make the goal a reality.

Excerpts follow:
TT: How will this process work step by step?

LV: As a researcher, what I can tell you is that we’re going to convince 20-25 percent of the current [taxi and bus] fleet to move to carbon-neutral alternatives in the next two years. This will have a mirror effect on consumers, who will begin to prefer carbon-neutral taxis and buses, and it will be an incentive for companies to change their fleet over time.

We need banks to offer better financing rates for innovative business owners who are willing to make this change; we need to declare bus stops and taxi stands carbon-neutral only; we need municipalities to contribute with financing strategies; and we need alternative systems, like having only carbon-neutral taxis in Central Park in San José, or in the center of Heredia, for example, which forces taxi drivers and owners to decide on their own to upgrade their technology.

We have to align municipal policy with central government policy, along with the actors who will finance green technology.

Where are we headed? In 2020-2025, I see Costa Rica with an entirely carbon-neutral taxi fleet, and a bus fleet that is 40-50 percent carbon-neutral. How much we achieve by 2014 depends on how much we advance with [public transport] concessions, and we’re working on that.

We need to bring natural gas, which is an enormously more efficient fuel than diesel or other gasoline.

Much of this plan relies on the market. What role will regulation have?
Clear rules. We can’t change the rules of the game. There has to be synergy between environmental policy, or the Environment Ministry, and price regulation at the Public Services Regulatory Authority. And they’re working on that with rates to encourage change. We need regulatory models so that the rules of the game are clear and don’t change for concession owners. That will help them make the changes that are needed, because we don’t want to create bad business for them. Everyone who is working on this issue knows that environmental protection, at the end of the day, is a much more profitable business than a business that pollutes, which is what we have today with taxis and buses that burn gasoline and diesel.

Now, consumers and the government can make the difference in this process. Clear rules, inter-agency coordination, and incentives, small incentives but important ones such as lower interest rates and bus-only lanes in the city, these types of things can have a big impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Costa Rica.

Since this is a long-term project, how do you convince future administrations to stay the course?
In 1990, there was a big change in our forestry policy. We’ve taken nearly 30 years to solidify that and change the course of environmental degradation that was happening in the country. In 2010, a very important political choice was made, and I would hope that in 2025 or 2030, this process will have become visible on a large scale, as it is today with our forestry policy. Why? Because in the ’90s Costa Ricans made a decision, and today, we adore our forests. We refuse to return to what was happening in the ’80s. I would hope that the same thing happens in the public transport sector.

This is a technological change that needs to happen step by step. We can’t do everything at once, but it is important to include these changes in concessions by 2014 in order to achieve our goals.

Read the full story in the Tico Times

Monday, October 15, 2012

Beautiful Coffee Farm for sale in San Ramon

Located just outside of San Ramon, Costa Rica and priced at  $1,200,000, this coffee farm would be ideal as an equestrian centre, or a family home with guest lodges.

The highlights are:
  • 30 acres
  • 3 new, custom-built homes
  • over 900 meters of public road frontage
  • secluded setting
  • private river
  • panoramic views
  • coffee plants
  • fruit orchard
  • hardwood trees 
  • wild Orchids
  • 3 Building lots

In  total there are three newly built homes: main house of 2250sq. ft. (4 beds 3.5 baths, office, laundry, living / dining room, terrace), two guest houses of 800 sq. ft. (2 besds, 1 bath, kitchen, living / dining area, 3 terraces). These beautiful homes are on a 30 acre farm which includes 16 acres of coffee.

Situated at 3,600 ft elevation gives this property a fantastic livable climate. Night time temperatures are a very pleasant 65-70, whilst day time temps are a comfortable 74-85.



There is plenty of water onsite with 2,400 gallons of water per hour from well. Throughout the farm there are mature valuable hardwood Cedro trees.


If you plan to develop the property there are 3 subdivided 0.5 acre road frontage building lots with development permissions. San Jose is 45 minutes, the Pacific coast is just a 50 minutes drive

San Ramon (pop. 70,000) is 10 minutes away and has a hospital, school, three bilingual private schools and a vibrant downtown shopping area.

For more information go to our website here: http://www.costaricainvest.ie or send us an e mail to info@costaricainvest.ie or give us a call: USA +1-866-990-1123 (toll free) or Europe +353-1-272-4184

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Costa Rica property auction


We're running Costa Rica's first international property auction next month.

You can attend the auction in person or online from the comfort of your own home. 




If you would like to see details of the properties for sale you can register your interest on our website below.

http://www.costaricainvest.ie












Costa Rica Tourist Institute to run San Lucas Prison as a tourist attraction


The prison island San Lucas has a dark history as the most brutal prison in Costa Rica. The prison ran between 1873 and 1991 and housed the most notorious and dangerous criminals in Costa Rica, but is now being converted into a tourist destination. Located close to Puntarenas, the area is already a major tourist destination.
Until 1950, inmates who disobeyed orders were punished were sent to “the hole” and “grilled”. It was common to hear them scream and call for help, Montero clarified during a tour of the site.


The island San Lucas, of 472 acres, is located three kilometers from the coast of Puntarenas, Central Pacific of Costa Rica, and is visited by tourists interested in learning about the history of the prison and the torture and inhumane conditions the inmates faced.

The site is not yet ready to receive visitors, but the work is underway to restore historic buildings that are severely damaged by years of neglect.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) stated that the government hopes to restore the place no later than year and a half, with an investment of $2 million USD.

The future plans calls for reconstruction of the pier and an environmental education center for tourists, sanitation and water treatment plant.

San Lucas is expected to receive a maximum of 800 visitors per day, and thus promote the island as a place of great historical and natural beauty.

The jail began operating under the orders of dictator Tomás Guardia (1831-1882). At first, only political prisoners were sent there, later the country’s most violent criminals.

In each of the seven units held up to 70 people sleeping on the floor and they were given only one hour of sunlight a day.


“The Hole” said the guide, is a hole two meters deep in the common courtyard, which you enter through a small space barely fit one person, but under an enclosure houses nine feet in diameter, where the temperature reached 60 degrees Celsius.

The story of what happened in that prison is found in the novel “The Island of Lonely Men,” published in 1972 by the Costa Rican Jose Leon Sanchez, who was imprisoned there between 1950 and 1988.
One of the main attractions of the prison is the hundreds of letters that can be seen on the walls of the cells.
The Wildlife Refuge Isla San Lucas surrounds the prison and there are walking trail through the tropical forest.

The island has indigenous archaeological sites, an enormous biodiversity and lush beaches where there’s interest to build resorts.

That initiative was originally rejected by the Government in 2003 to preserve the Wildlife Refuge but now this dark past of the prison recognized and will hopefully become a symbol for the protection of human rights.


Read the full story on The Costa Rica News (TCRN)


Read more about the prison at www.sanlucasprison.com

Saturday, October 6, 2012

To buy now or wait.......that is the question!

Many clients tell me "I really want to buy my dream property in Costa Rica, but I need to wait for markets to recover at home so I can sell my current property and use those funds to purchase a Costa Rica property".

Now for those clients who are "under water" and in negative equity with their current property, this is true. They will have to wait until markets recover and they regain some equity in their property. They can then sell (or perhaps refinance) and use the equity release to purchase in Costa Rica.

But what about those clients who have equity in their home property, what should they do?

Well that depends on their view of where their home property market and the Costa Rica property market are going.

My view is that the Costa Rica property market is going to outperform most other fallen markets for a range of reasons:
  • increased demand from retiring baby boomers from the USA and Canada
  • increased demand from US citizens due to dissatisfaction with the US economy and politics
  • increased demand from US citizens seeking to protect funds from foreign exchange controls (Hire Act and more).
So if you own a property and the local property market preforms the same rate as the Costa Rican market. You have effectively "stood still" by waiting a number of years to buy. See the example below:

Property value in the USA year 1                                        Property you wish to buy in Costa Rica year 1
US$100,000                                                                          US$100,000

Property markets double over 5 years in both markets

Property value in the USA year 5                                        Property you wish to buy in Costa Rica year 5
US$200,000                                                                          US$200,000

So by waiting 5 years you are in exactly in the same position as you were 5 years before, you can only buy the same property.

Of course if the property market does not perform at the same rate as the Costa Rica property market then you're actually losing

Property value in the USA year 1                                        Property you wish to buy in Costa Rica year 1
US$100,000                                                                          US$100,000

Property markets double in Costa Rica and go up by 50% in the USA over 5 years

Property value in the USA year 5                                        Property you wish to buy in Costa Rica year 5
US$150,000                                                                          US$200,000

In this scenario, through circumstances that are out of your control, by waiting 5 years, you cannot now buy the property you could have bought 5 years before.

Of course for those that are highly leveraged (have mortages or other finance on their property) the calculation is not quite the same - increases in the local property market results in relatively larger increases in equity. But remember the contrary is also true, decreases in the local property market results in exponentially larger falls in equity. However, fundamentally if the Costa Rica property market outperforms your local home market, you will struggle to keep up and likely end up being able to purchase less in Costa Rica by waiting.

Something to think about!

Perhaps now is time to take action. Why not contact us at USA +1-866-990-1123 (toll free) or Europe +353-1-272-4184 or at info@costaricainvest.ie or speak directly with your consultant. We have a range of solutions for clients (trades, RRSP, 401k, developer finance, IRA funds)






Thursday, October 4, 2012

Costa Rica could become the first Latin American country to ban hunting for sport.

Wild Life Law
José María Villalta, top lawmaker of the Broad Front Party voted in favor of the new Wildlife Law.
Costa Rican lawmakers on Tuesday night approved a series of amendments to the Wildlife Law, which prohibits hunting for sport in the country.

The law allows the hunting of animals only in the case of scientific research, subsistence and species control. The bill was approved in a first-round vote by 41 lawmakers, with only five members of the Libertarian Movement Party voting against it.

The bill set another precedent in the country, as it was proposed to the Legislative Assembly by public initiative, having garnered the signature of 177,000 Costa Ricans. The effort was organized by local conservation group Apreflofas.

The Libertarian Movement Party’s top lawmaker, Carlos Góngora, said his party planned on filing several motions to block the bill, but ran out of time before the vote.

Luis Guillermo Solís, likely to be the next presidential candidate from the Citizen Action Party, said the bill’s passage "was living history ... because today people organized and commanded the First Branch of the Republic."

“The Wildlife Law is perfectible, but more importantly, it inaugurates popular initiative laws. Today, the people are sovereign. … Social organization [and] civic action are the driving force for major social changes and a fundamental asset that strengthens and improves our democracy,” he added.

The bill must now pass a second round of voting and be signed into law by President Laura Chinchilla, before been sent for publishing in the government newspaper, La Gaceta.
Read the full story in The Tico Times

Monday, October 1, 2012

Costa Rica Economy is winning but is still struggling under weight of public debt


Costa Rica economy and GDP growth rate are seeing better management as government struggles to navigate the Global Economic Crisis.

Costa Rica’s domestic and foreign debt has been growing rapidly. To date, the debt represents 49.7% with respect to domestic industry.

According to the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR), 2011 internal and external obligations of the public sector, including the financial sector, amounted to ¢ 10,301,396 million, reflecting a greater relative weight in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) .

Furthermore, of the 19 loans in execution, for a total of $ 1,577,999,718.84 the country has disbursed $ 654,404,825.03, with $ 923,594,893.81 in reserve.

The comptroller does see physical and financial progress, however, but some problems have come to light. There were management problems, government contracting and environmental factors that have caused problems over the past year.

Despite criticism, Treasury borrowing through loans as a mechanism argues that it is “cheaper” and notes that although the projects not running do not represent an additional expense because the country pays the interest on the debt on the amounts disbursed.

With the growth of the debt, the Treasury raised point of the effects of the economic crisis, and high growth in public spending, which have led to higher financing needs and pressures on government debt management.
Moreover, during the previous year a decrease debt product, Eurobond payment and amortization of liabilities of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, did not reverse offset actual increases that occurred in the domestic debt that finance the Government’s needs.

Such behavior prompted both government debt, plus the rest of the public sector – including the financial sector – representing ¢ 10,301,396 million reflecting a real growth of 12.1%, higher than the variation in 2009 and 2010, and 7, 9 percentage points higher than the growth shown by GDP.

To this growing debt, you must add the $ 4,000 million that will put the country at international level – can place up to $ 1,000 million per year – and the progressive of domestic borrowing during the 2012, has allowed the running costs.

However, given the non-approval of tax reform, the Ministry of Finance, took as plan “B” the placement of Eurobonds. Analysts have argued that there are structural solutions the country needs and that the only thing the government did was “buying time”.

Another reflection of growing debt is the national budget, where 43% of the 6.4 billion that the government planned for 2013 will be financed with debt.

Read the full story on The Costa Rica News (TCRN)San Jose Costa Rica