Upcoming webinar schedule

Our webinars over the coming weeks are:

Date: Thursday September 15th
Time: 1:00pm Eastern
Title: Now you can grow Your own Green Oilfield
Subject: Renewable Energy Farm Biofuel Investment Opportunity in Cost Rica
Registration Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/738546922

Date: Thursday September 22nd
Time: 1:00pm Eastern
Title: Is Costa Rica a Good Investment Opportunity
Subject: Costa Rica and an introduction to NatureWalk, Turrubares and Hacienda Pacifica, Quepos
Registration Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/652633490

IBM to invest $300 million, create 1,000 jobs in Costa Rica

By Adam Williams

The investment is one of the largest here in the past decade.

U.S.-based technology giant IBM announced Thursday it will invest approximately $300 million over the next 10 years in a new information technology service center in Costa Rica. The center is expected to create an estimated 1,000 jobs by 2014.

President Laura Chinchilla said the IBM investment is one of the largest in the country in the past decade, and represents a vital step for her administration’s goal of achieving $9 billion in foreign direct investment by 2014. With FDI reaching $1.45 billion in 2010, Chinchilla set a goal of $1.95 billion for 2011.

“As president, my main priority is to propel Costa Rica toward development, improving its competitiveness and guiding it toward innovation through high technology, and generating employment opportunities with higher added value,” Chinchilla said Thursday morning. “The decision of IBM is a very positive sign that we are moving in the right direction. Costa Rica is welcoming new opportunities to continue developing the talent of our workers and motivating our youth in school.”

According to the Costa Rican Investment Board, in 2010 there were 210 foreign-owned companies operating in the country, generating 58,472 jobs.

To read the full story by Adam Williams in the Tico Times, click here

Be a part of the Green Energy Revolution

Pura Vida

Pura Vida – Costa Rica, Central America
By: Lisa Lubin

Pura Vida

In Costa Rica there’s a saying that permeates everyday life. Pura Vida literally translates to "pure life". It’s also used to mean "it’s all good". Here are a few examples.

“How are you?” “Pura Vida.”

“How’s the weather?” “Pura Vida.”

A pretty girl or cute muchacho is “Pura Vida".

Pura Vida is an attitude, a feeling. It’s all good. It’s relaxing, taking it easy. In the States we don’t have this outlook in everything we do.

It makes me think about how we say we want to live life to the fullest. It's so hard to do when we are preoccupied with working, making more money to buy more things, commuting, running on the treadmill, falling into bed exhausted. How do we have time to really "live life", pura vida?
We say “stop and smell the roses”, “work to live, don’t live to work.” It takes five seconds to say these words, five seconds to think about the meaning before our own daily thoughts, responsibilities and to-do lists crash into our brain.

I'm no expert. If I figure how to make "life" better, I'll let you know. Do the same for me.

Pura vida!

Thank you to Lisa Lubin for this excellent article and to read more about Lisa Lubin's travels, go here.

What sets Costa Rica Apart?

Costa Rica has created a unique and holistic approach to its economic development and the environment, based around a system which pays for use of the environment.
More than 5% of the world’s biodiversity (an incredible one in twenty of every living thing on the planet) lives in Costa Rica and Costa Rica first recognized the value of this natural asset in the 1990’s when it set about forming a plan to protect it.

In most countries the environment ministry is effectively the “poor relation” – sidelined and hidden away. But Costa Rica did what no country had done before - it integrated the environment ministry with the ministry of energy, creating a department which looks after the environment, mining, energy and water.

As a result the ministry took a long term view on the country’s energy strategy. The result was that Costa Rica chose to invest in renewable energy sources. These were not the cheapest option at that time; however the ministry determined that over a longer term 25-50 years they would provide the best value. As a direct result more than 95% of Costa Rica’s energy now comes from renewable sources – hydroelectric, wind and geo-thermal.

Further recognising the true value of its environment Costa Rica was one of the first countries worldwide to impose a tax on fossil fuels. First introduced in 1997, the revenue generated by this 3.5% tax funds the National Forest Fund to pay indigenous communities for protection of the surrounding forests. As a direct result of this fund, deforestation in Costa Rica has been reversed with the land area under forest now more than double that of twenty years ago.

So what sets Costa Rica Apart? – it truly recognizes the value of its environment!

Investment up 11% for Costa Rica in 2008

Thirty new companies were established in the services, manufacturing, and medical device sectors in Costa Rica, generating an investment of $428.6 million and creating 6,300 new jobs in 2008.

Gabriela Llobet, manager of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), a group responsible for attracting investment to the country warned that 2009 poses ever-increasing challenges to Costa Rica, as other countries try to become more competitive during the global economic crisis.

Llobet said that the crisis will inevitably have an impact in Costa Rica, but there are still promising signs for 2009.

The year has already begun with the announcement of new investments from medical device companies St. Jude Medical and BeamOne. Both companies will open new plants in the Coyol Free Trade Zone, in the Alajuela province.

St. Jude Medical, a U.S.-based multinational firm, will use the new plant to expand its production of heart valves. The $40 million investment will generate 500 jobs once the plant is in operation.

BeamOne, also a U.S. firm, recently opened its electron beam sterilization plant here.

The digital production company avVenta also announced that it would invest $20 million on technology improvements and training for its 500 employees. The company expects to employ 2,000 people by next year.

The number of new companies formed in 2008 was 11 percent higher than the previous year, and many of these businesses are in new sub-sectors. This corresponds with CINDE’s goals of promoting new markets in Costa Rica, Llobet said.

To read the full story, with listings of the sectors showing the most growth, by Grettel Prendas (grettel.prendas@rimolamedios.com) of the The Central America Times just click here.