How's the economy in Nicaragua?
Mike Cobb - ECI Development
The economy of Nicaragua is growing, 5.5% (est.) in 2013. While Americans are missing the boat in large numbers, Canadian, Mexican, Brazilian, and other Latin American companies are setting up shop in Nicaragua, a stable country with low cost labor and land acquisition attributes. The World Bank ranked Nicaragua as the best country to protect investor rights in the region. Contrary to popular opinion in the US, Nicaragua is a great place to invest, live and raise a...
The economy of Nicaragua is growing, 5.5% (est.) in 2013. While Americans are missing the boat in large numbers, Canadian, Mexican, Brazilian, and other Latin American companies are setting up shop in Nicaragua, a stable country with low cost labor and land acquisition attributes. The World Bank ranked Nicaragua as the best country to protect investor rights in the region. Contrary to popular opinion in the US, Nicaragua is a great place to invest, live and raise a family.
Posted January 20, 2014
Lucy Valenti - Liv Nicaragua
A lot of investment, both national and international, left Nicaragua during the 1980s, because the country spent so many years at war. This really destroyed the economy. So, you have to bear in mind that up to 1990 or so (just over 20 years ago), the economy of Nicaragua was in bad shape. After that, we established a new democratic system in Nicaragua, having presidential elections every five years. One of the first and most difficult tasks starting at that time was to...
A lot of investment, both national and international, left Nicaragua during the 1980s, because the country spent so many years at war. This really destroyed the economy. So, you have to bear in mind that up to 1990 or so (just over 20 years ago), the economy of Nicaragua was in bad shape. After that, we established a new democratic system in Nicaragua, having presidential elections every five years. One of the first and most difficult tasks starting at that time was to rebuild the economy, so the government started promoting and providing incentives to bring investment into Nicaragua.
So far, we have managed to do that very well. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have praised the Nicaraguan economy for how we have managed to keep a very healthy economy during the most recent worldwide financial crises. And also, Nicaragua is one of the top destinations in all of Latin America for foreign investment now.
In Nicaragua, we had to rebuild everything and start from scratch. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities in all fields for investment. There are many, many opportunities. Here are just three of them:
So far, we have managed to do that very well. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have praised the Nicaraguan economy for how we have managed to keep a very healthy economy during the most recent worldwide financial crises. And also, Nicaragua is one of the top destinations in all of Latin America for foreign investment now.
In Nicaragua, we had to rebuild everything and start from scratch. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities in all fields for investment. There are many, many opportunities. Here are just three of them:
- Renewable energy is one of the top priorities in the country and one in which Nicaragua leads Central America. Nicaragua is one of the top three countries in the world with the highest potential for wind-powered energy.
- In tourism, we haven’t even developed a third of the potential of Nicaragua, so we have many opportunities in that field.
- We also have potential for a canal that would be a huge investment – US $50 billion.
There are a lot of opportunities to invest in Nicaragua now, and the law and the government promotes it as well.
Posted July 18, 2014
Carlos Roman Gutierrez Solis - Casa Granada Properties
The economy of Nicaragua grows by 4% every year. The middle class is definitely moving forward. You will now see many new businesses here in Nicaragua. Things do not happen very fast here, but it is definitely much better than how it was twenty years ago. In the 80’s, there were many issues that hindered the economy, such as the weather and the high price of oil and electricity.
When I was a kid, you barely saw businesses here in Nicaragua,...
The economy of Nicaragua grows by 4% every year. The middle class is definitely moving forward. You will now see many new businesses here in Nicaragua. Things do not happen very fast here, but it is definitely much better than how it was twenty years ago. In the 80’s, there were many issues that hindered the economy, such as the weather and the high price of oil and electricity.
When I was a kid, you barely saw businesses here in Nicaragua, but today, businesses are everywhere. Everyone is trying to bring in new concepts. You will see new restaurants, new hotels, and new roads everywhere. Building increased by 35% in the last two years. The government is putting more attention to the roads and the infrastructure and that is an indication that things are getter better.
If you go to Managua, you will see a lot of new developments and new homes. That tells me that people are buying these properties and that there is obviously a demand for these developments. I also see many Nicaraguan retirees who are looking for new houses. Nicaraguans are now more confident that the economy is moving forward. I took a trip to Managua with my partner to see the development there and I was very impressed by how things were moving. We saw people from Guatemala and people from China who are building and selling houses. The government has plans of building a canal and a marina and hearing the news that a new canal will be built already has a lot of people searching and buying land in the surrounding areas.
Nicaragua has a good business environment. Otherwise, I probably would not be here, discussing this topic. The best indicator that proves that Nicaragua now has more quality houses and that life is better is the fact that the people who left the country in the 80’s are now finding ways to move back and find a place to live here. Many Nicaraguans who are now in other countries are sending money back here. Everyone is trying to bring in some money. I am not an economist but I am a businessman. I talk to architects, engineers and developers every day and they see what’s going on in Nicaragua. As a businessman, I could see what happens on the ground, and I have to have a feel for things to make investments. Not only can I see other people make investments because there’s new businesses opening up all the time, but I personally feel confident to make an investment because I have confidence in the future of Nicaragua.
Posted October 16, 2014
Gabriel Sánchez - PRONicaragua
The economy of Nicaragua is doing great. In the last couple of years, Nicaragua's economy has been showing growth rates in terms of GDP, export, and foreign investment that are coming to the country, all of which has been validated by international institutions such as the IMF. The IMF has declared that Nicaragua’s economic situation is very sound and very stable.
All of this has been fostered because of an open dialogue between the...
The economy of Nicaragua is doing great. In the last couple of years, Nicaragua's economy has been showing growth rates in terms of GDP, export, and foreign investment that are coming to the country, all of which has been validated by international institutions such as the IMF. The IMF has declared that Nicaragua’s economic situation is very sound and very stable.
All of this has been fostered because of an open dialogue between the public and the private sectors. Most of the economic policies are developed jointly and that helps for a very positive business environment in Nicaragua. The economy of Nicaragua is consistently growing and I think the most important part of this growth is that there is optimism for the future.
The government of Nicaragua provides fiscal incentives in order to encourage development in certain sectors of the economy. Although there are exceptions, fiscal incentives are given mostly to companies that in the exporting business. There are also incentives for companies that are in the energy generation business, the tourism industry or those that are in forestry. The most common fiscal incentive is the free zone regime, which is given to companies that are exporting and not selling to the local market through their manufacturing activities. This incentive covers full exemption of income tax, import duties and sales tax, and others.
Posted November 9, 2014
Esmerelda Vargas - Schuvar Tours
The economy is doing very well in Nicaragua. One of the reasons is because of the relationship Nicaragua has with Venezuela relative to oil and that is making a lot of money for everybody. It makes more businesses grow and it opens more job opportunities. I don’t know what’s happening with Venezuela because I don’t understand that, but I know that Venezuela has oil and oil is coming to Nicaragua.
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The economy is doing very well in Nicaragua. One of the reasons is because of the relationship Nicaragua has with Venezuela relative to oil and that is making a lot of money for everybody. It makes more businesses grow and it opens more job opportunities. I don’t know what’s happening with Venezuela because I don’t understand that, but I know that Venezuela has oil and oil is coming to Nicaragua.
In addition to the oil, other sectors of the economy are growing in Nicaragua as well. Oil one of the most important sectors but tourism is also increasing. Nicaragua was named as one of the safest and one of the best places to live. This was advertised in several magazines, which helped tourism in Nicaragua to grow. There are now a lot of investments in hotels and restaurants and that is helping the economy a lot. Everything that is related to agriculture, such as peanuts, sesame oil, and all these items that are now more important in the world, most especially coffee, also helps the economy to grow. It is a combination of everything.
A lot of people are moving to Nicaragua and a lot more people are doing business here than before. As a result, we now have several new brands in Nicaragua. For example, 10 years ago, we didn’t have any Friday’s or Burger King, but now we have all that and there is more to come. More people are investing in the capital, Managua. There is now a Hilton Hotel, a Holiday Inn, and there is a Windham Hotel that is about to open so businessmen are eyeing Nicaragua as a good place to make money.
If you want to invest in tourism, Nicaragua has a special law that will return your taxes and that makes it very attractive for businessmen. You can come here and invest in a hotel or a restaurant and you don’t have to pay taxes. It is something that Costa Rica has had for a long time and Nicaragua has now also implemented it.
(Nicaraguan coffee traded for Venezuela's crude oil, pictured.)
Posted May 16, 2015
Mario Robleto - SAENICSA Accounting and Tax Services
The economy in Nicaragua is looking good.There’s been some deceleration in certain parts of the world because oil prices have really gone down a lot, so certain people in the region have felt it. For example, Venezuela has been doing really poorly but here in Nicaragua, we’re doing very well. In fact, we’ve been experiencing somewhat of a little construction boom in Nicaragua. We have the first apartment complex skyrise in the locality of Metro Centro,...
The economy in Nicaragua is looking good.There’s been some deceleration in certain parts of the world because oil prices have really gone down a lot, so certain people in the region have felt it. For example, Venezuela has been doing really poorly but here in Nicaragua, we’re doing very well. In fact, we’ve been experiencing somewhat of a little construction boom in Nicaragua. We have the first apartment complex skyrise in the locality of Metro Centro, which you can see when you’re driving on the Carretera Masaya. It’s a big, new building and it’s the first of its kind.
Also, we have also have an actual Wal-Mart. We’ve always had the investment from Wal-Mart through subsidiaries, but now we have a name brand Wal-Mart here in the country.
There’s a lot of building going on. We also have the airport in Tola, which was recently finished. The road has given accessibility to many of the great resorts on the Gold Coast. When you have good signs in the construction sector that just means good things are to follow because, like they say, you build it and they will come. And that’s what Nicaragua is really expecting for this year. Towards the last two quarters of last year and the first quarter of this year some construction has ended, some has begun and it’s positive from here on out.
(Pictured: Carretera Masaya, Managua, Nicaragua.)
Posted March 5, 2016