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36
T H E P R I M E R U S P A R A D I G M
Peru: A Destination for Foreign Investment
Peru has the fastest growing economy
in Latin America. Its unique and wide
diversity, with a variety of micro-climates
and magnificent natural resources, sets
Peru apart. It has developed a solid
economic and industrial background.
Thus, as of today, Peru is considered
one of the world's leading emerging
markets. Sixteen years of uninterrupted
annual growth and well-defined legal
framework defines the country as a
surprising and excellent destination
for investors, offering a great variety of
investment possibilities.
The main factors creating new and
better business opportunities for this
emerging Andean country are:
·
mining industry,
·
infrastructure project developments,
·
gastronomy, agribusiness and cultural
tourism,
·
middle class growth,
·
solid macroeconomic fundamentals,
and
·
strong legal framework encouraging
private investment.
Over the years, Peru has turned into
one of the most attractive destinations for
investment in mining. It has the winning
combination that all successful investors
look for worldwide based on its large
deposits of mineral resources, while a very
small percentage of the country's territory
is being explored. Peru ranks among the
worldwide top producers of copper, silver,
gold, zinc, tin and lead.
Likewise, the lack of modern
infrastructure facilities in the territory
offers important opportunities for the
development and modernization of
highways, railway, port and airport
infrastructure, among others. In addition,
Peru is a country with high availability
of hydric resources, natural gas and
renewable energy, as well as hydrocarbon
resources, with great investment
opportunities.
Peru's southern hemisphere location
has resulted in an important growth
for its agribusiness industry. Its wide
biodiversity and climate conditions allow
the supply of off-season products to the
world market. Our country is a significant
worldwide player for asparagus, coffee,
cacao, bananas, grapes, quinoa, mangoes,
citrus, avocados and blueberries.
Finally, as it is well known, Peru
is the Land of the Inkas, with amazing
archaeological monuments, biodiversity,
cultures and gastronomy, offering its
tourists a wide spectrum of experiences
and adventures, becoming a world-class
destination attracting investors.
But none of these investment
opportunities will work without the
appropriate framework. Peruvian
constitutional and legal framework opens
our economy to private investment, which
is exercised in the context of a social
market economy, governed by the law
of supply and demand. This means that,
in general terms, prices for goods and
services are fixed by market, repressing
any conduct that restricts it.
Peru has established several principles
to entice foreign investment and provide
stability and continuance to all investors.
The most significant measures are:
·
acknowledgment of a non-
discriminatory treatment compared to
national investors,
·
freedom of trade and industry,
·
property rights guarantees,
·
free possession of local/foreign
currencies,
·
use of the most favorable currency
exchange rate,
·
freedom to re-export any capital
investment and remittance of profits
after taxes,
·
unlimited access to domestic credit,
·
freedom to hire technology and
remittance of royalties, and
Latin America & Caribbean ­ Peru
Juan Prado Bustamante is a partner at Llona
& Bustamante Abogados, where his practice
focuses on corporate and financial law, along
with insurance and financial services. He has
participated in various privatizations and public
offerings of state owned enterprises.
Llona & Bustamante Abogados
Francisco Masias 370 piso 7
San Isidro, Lima 27 Peru
+511 418 4860 Phone
jprado@ellb.com.pe
ellb.com.pe
Juan Prado Bustamante