“Undoubtedly, we will continue to invest in Uruguay.”

The meeting Propuesta de Valor Uruguay, celebrated in Chile, presented why the country is a strategic and consolidated hub for developing business platforms with projections towards the region and the world.

The governmental investment and export promotion agency, Uruguay XXI, and the Embassy of Uruguay in Chile organized the activity, bringing together nearly 100 business people, investors, and professionals from both countries.

“Uruguay’s strengths are its clear rules, transparency, reliability, and stability. It is a style of the country highlighted by the investors who choose us”, said the director of Uruguay XXI, Sebastián Risso, in his words of welcome to the meeting.

He added that Uruguay is easy to do business with and highlighted the country’s “excellent quality of life.” “By law, domestic and foreign investors are treated the same, and we have a single tax regime,” he stressed.

The manager of Competitive Intelligence of the same agency, Mariana Ferreira, explained that Uruguay has a very high GDP per capita, almost US$ 20,000 per person, and is one of the countries with the best income distribution in the region. “After the recession, during the pandemic, our economy grew in the order of 5%. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections, Uruguay will continue to grow in the medium term,” he said.

Uruguay’s ambassador to Chile, Alberto Fajardo, said, “It is a reality the growing interest in Chile to visit Uruguay and invest thinking about improving the welfare of both countries” and highlighted the strong bilateral relationship of 180 years that both countries share.

“Uruguay a platform to expand to the world”

The meeting Propuesta de Valor Uruguay, through a panel moderated by the Global Services specialist of Uruguay XXI, Fabiana Valiño, offered the opportunity to learn about the success stories of the Chilean companies Linzor Capital Partners and Sonda, installed in Uruguay.

Sonda operates in 12 countries, but about its subsidiary in Uruguay, the company’s Southern Cone general manager, Marcelo Castiglione, said that “it is an exemplary operation. It interprets us 100% in what we want to achieve and our vision.”

“The stability in Uruguay is far superior, so investment security is more than guaranteed. We work a lot with the government, and tenders are always transparently resolved. We will continue investing in Uruguay without a doubt”, he assured.

Linzor Capital’s Managing Partner, Tim Purcell, added, “Uruguay is a perfect platform to expand to other countries in the region. Of the four investments we have made there, three have operations outside the country”.

Linzor Capital began investing in Uruguay 11 years ago, and today its portfolio includes the Farmashop chains, the Pagnifique bakery brand, and, more recently, the digital companies InConcert and Convertia. These experiences confirmed that the institutions in Uruguay work and that the country is an “excellent platform” to expand to other countries in the region.

In addition, he stressed that these investments allowed them to advance an agenda related to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) issues, which he identified as a priority in Uruguay’s policies and one of the reasons they chose to do business in the country.

Castiglione also highlighted Uruguay’s free zone regime and business hub scheme with permanent growth, technology tax exemption, and the greatest connectivity in Latin America. “For our technology services, this is essential,” he said. He also valued the talent in Uruguay, which he considered fundamental for doing business, and praised the professional and technical quality he found in the country. “It is extremely high and stands out in the region,” he said.

He also referred to Uruguay’s outstanding performance in the export of services.
“I know companies in Uruguay that export all their activity to the United States. They are Uruguayans who develop software and sell more than 90% of their services to the United States. He concluded they must have a very high professional quality because competition is high in these market areas”.

The Value Proposition Uruguay meeting was an ideal space for networking among Chilean business people, investment advisors, and operators of Uruguayan free trade zones who traveled especially. Eighteen companies and the investment promotion agency of the Department of Canelones were part of the delegation. This is the second time that Uruguay has held a meeting of these characteristics in Chile. Last year three other Chilean companies - Montes del Plata (Arauco), Tánica, and the Enjoy group - were protagonists of the event and shared their good investment experiences in the country. Read here the testimonies of the three companies.