Late Autumn Newsletter 2021 |
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"What can Euracen do for you?" but also "What can you do for Euracen?" |
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Have you wondered recently why you are a member of Euracen? Or why you would like to join? Well, perhaps you should not only ask yourself "What can Euracen do for me?" but also answer the question: "What can I do for Euracen?"
It is not easy for Euracen to achieve major successes quickly. The countries in Central America it represents are not "top of mind" among business leaders and potential investors. Although many dream of international expansion, not many dare nor want to look for opportunities in Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua or Panama. "Why?" is the question that has been on our minds, especially since Covid keeps us from flying across the ocean where also country specific quarantine and control measures did surprise more than one visitor.
Clearly, the region suffers tremendously from bad publicity. While gang-related violence still makes international headlines and keeps travelers away, in most of these countries, the vast majority of their territories have nothing to do with these bad issues. On the contrary, travelers that do visit countries in the region are all impressed by what those small countries have to offer: world-class surf spots near deserted beaches; coffee plantations on the edges of volcanoes; colorful Spanish colonial cities and beautiful national parks. Moreover, as you will read in this Newsletter, economically speaking, many countries are doing well.
Our main mission remains to facilitate the establishment of cultural and commercial relationships with the human and business communities on both sides of the ocean. As an accredited member of BLCCA, Euracen plays a vital role for entrepreneurs and potential investors by closely watching the markets in these countries. By providing accurate information about the specifics of oncoming projects, and by connecting interested and matching parties with the right decision makers, both at human and financial level. Thanks to our close relation with all eight Ambassadors and their staff, we more and more aim at laying our hands on upcoming projects at a very early stage and in great detail.
Having said that, being or becoming a member of Euracen also requires a commitment, especially if you expect, and rightly so, a service in return. Because of Covid, however, also the Chamber had to temper its ambitions and has not been able therefore, to level up its finances as hoped. The lack of membership fees income and of reasonable government support partly explains this state of playing. In other words, anyone joining or wanting to join Euracen should be aware that his or her membership fee has a positive impact on our ROI. We anticipate that one joins as a member because of personal or business connections with a particular country in Central America. Or because of a certain business interest in the region. But so to be able to serve them and others, Euracen would highly appreciate that you honour your commitment to the Chamber by acquiting your 2022 membership fee right now. In a separate message hereafter, we will further detail how and how much.
Wish you all an interesting late Autumn!
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PRESIDENT |
Erwin De Weerdt |
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2022 MEMBERSHIP - SUBSCRIBE NOW |
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We eagerly await the moment when we will be able to meet again and invite you to a general meeting, a conference or the welcoming of some new ambassadors and ambassadresses. But since we do not know with certainty when we will regain this freedom, we would like to make you a special proposal and offer you membership in Euracen until the end of 2022 at Covid conditions, being:
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Membership Fees
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€ 25
Student
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€ 150
Individual Member
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€ 300
Corporate Member one per company
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€ 2.500
Corporate Sponsor
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€ 5.000
Corporate Sponsor sector exclusivity
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May we kindly invite you to transfer the corresponding amount due into the Euracen account at Belfius IBAN BE90 0682 1202 3132 & BIC GKCCBEBB with the mention “membership 2022”, followed by your name and contact data. An invoice will be provided upon simple request to Mrs Judith Gryson (@ jgr@leleux.be & +32 495 29 54 85)
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WHY INVEST IN CENTRAL AMERICA ? |
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Central America: Integration, investment and trade opportunities Regional integration strengthens Central America’s resilience and unlocks investment opportunities
Despite global economic and social challenges, Central America is forecast to have one of the strongest rebounds in Latin America and the Caribbean, supported by the agility and responsiveness of individual economies in coping with the pandemic’s disruptions. The inaugural ‘Central America: integration, investment and trade opportunities’ report, produced by OMFIF jointly with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, shows that: - New country partners, such as South Korea, are increasing their attention on Central America with various infrastructure projects underway. - Central America was the only bloc in Latin America and the Caribbean to experience year-on-year export growth in the first quarter of 2020. - The European Union is the region’s most important development partner, contributing 50.3% of total funding for development projects since 2014. - Central America’s banking system entered the Covid-19 crisis in a strong position, with financial soundness indicators outperforming minimum international benchmarks. - Green transport and energy infrastructure lead sustainable investment opportunities in the region, such as the development of an electric train in Costa Rica.
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The report aims to highlight the region’s potential by identifying growth opportunities and evaluating countries based on quantitative and qualitative indicators that are important to foreign investors.
The report covers eight countries: Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama. It presents a wide-ranging view of the region through five pillars: a macroeconomic overview; commerce, external trade and foreign direct investment; integration; finance, tax and transparency; and sustainable investment.
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BELGIUM AND FLANDERS RANK AS INNOVATION LEADERS IN THE EU |
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In a first for both the country and its northern region, Belgium and Flanders have been ranked as innovation leaders within the European Union. This was published in the European Innovation Scoreboard and the Regional Innovation Scoreboard released by the European Commission in June. The result of longstanding joint efforts by knowledge institutions, companies and governmental organizations, Belgium came in 4th out of 27 EU member states, while Flanders came in 27th out of 240 regions.
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WEEKLY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES |
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Dear members, Below, find an overview of the most concrete opportunities with a specific request and/or offer. With the feedback from both our users and Chambers, we can conclude that specific buying or selling opportunities in the platform have the highest success rate. By posting a specific offer and/or request, it becomes easier for CONNECTS users to identify instantly the value and relevancy of the opportunity for them. Therefore, we advise all members to post concrete and detailed buying and/or selling opportunities. See examples hereafter.
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BICENTENNIAL INDEPENDENCE IN CENTRAL AMERICA |
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By Aaron Humes
In September, Central American neighbors Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua marked their collective and individual Independence Days from Spain exactly 200 years ago in 1821. Panama will celebrate Independence Day in November.
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The Federation of Belgian Chambers of Commerce, of which Euracen is a member, represents the accredited Chambers of Commerce in Belgium and the Belgian Chambers abroad. It guarantees the quality and cohesion of the chamber network, while focusing on international and sustainable entrepreneurship.
2021 BLCCA Academy runs December 6- 10, 2021
See also www.belgianchambers.be BLCCA couldn’t resist the temptation of organizing another online BLCCA Academy this year. The Academy will run over a full week, from December 6 till 10, morning sessions only. On the menu will be workshops, trainings and videoconferences with a keynote speech on 9/12 by Prof. Jan Eeckhout on The Profit Paradox.
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To make the large and complex port area even safer, more efficient and smarter, Port of Antwerp is working with various partners to build a network of manned and autonomous flying drones. The drones serve to inspect infrastructure, along with surveillance and monitoring, incident management, berth management and oil spill or floating waste detection.
The imagery of oil incidents is also used by the University of Antwerp to train algorithms to automatically detect oil incidents in the future.
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RUNWAY EXTENSION BRUSSELS SOUTH CHARLEROI AIRPORT PAVES THE WAY FOR LONG-HAUL FLIGHTS |
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By André Orban, Aviation24.be
On October 8, 2021, Walloon Minister in charge of Airports Jean-Luc Crucke officially inaugurated the extended runway at Brussels South Charleroi Airport this Friday. The additional 650 metres bring the length of runway 06/24 to 3,200 metres, allowing long-haul flights.
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BELIZE IS 1 OF 3 CARRIBEAN COUNTRIES THAT PRODUCES MORE THAN 50% IF THE FOOD IT CONSUMES |
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Guyana pledges agricultural land for investment
By Rubén Morales Iglesias
As the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) celebrates the annual 16TH Caribbean Week of Agriculture (WAG), it’s good to note that Belize is one of only three countries in the Caribbean that produces more than 50 percent of the food it consumes, according to New York Carib News. The other two are Guyana and Haiti said the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
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EL SALVADOR EXPLORES BITCOIN MINING POWERED BY VOLCANOES |
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by MARCOS ALEMÁN and CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
BERLIN, El Salvador (AP) — At a geothermal power plant near El Salvador’s Tecapa volcano, 300 computers whir inside a trailer as they make complex mathematical calculations day and night verifying transactions for the cryptocurrency bitcoin.
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GUATEMALA AGRITRADE EXPO & CONFERENCE |
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The 20th AGRITRADE Expo & Conference,
the most important Agri-business platform of the region to take place
in Santo Domingo del Cerro-La Antigua Guatemala on March 23—25, 2022
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COSTA RICA ECONOMIC REPORT |
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Publication by the Trade and Economic Section of the Delegation of the EU to Costa Rica of CENTRAL AMERICA – Economic Report – Macroeconomic Outlook and Trade Analysis September 2021.
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CENTRAL AMERICAN ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT |
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GDP forecast to expand in 2021
After recovering solidly this year, regional economic growth is set to ease next year as domestic and foreign demand stabilize. Private consumption should remain an important driver of growth, benefiting from tighter regional labor markets and robust remittance inflows. However, uncertainty over the pandemic and the unwinding of fiscal support measures cloud the outlook.
Inflation to ease in 2022
Regional inflation was stable at July’s 4.3% in August. Higher prices for commodities, particularly energy, and supply chain disruptions have pushed up price pressures recently. Inflation is forecast to end this year below its current level, before easing further next year. Depreciating currencies and firming economic activity pose upside risks.
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Belize Economic Growth |
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Economic
growth should accelerate in 2022, after a relatively mild rebound in
2021. The uptick will likely be driven by the key tourism sector, which
has been severely damaged by the fallout from the pandemic but should be
able to recover as vaccination efforts progress. A possible
deterioration in the health crisis poses a downside risk. FocusEconomics
panelists forecast GDP to grow 3.4% in 2021. For 2022, the panel sees
the economy expanding 6.8%, which is unchanged from last month’s
estimate.
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COSTA RICA ECONOMIC OUTLOOK |
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Costa Rica Economic Growth |
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A broad-based pickup in activity, particularly household spending, should help the economy to continue growing in the latter half of this year. In 2022, GDP is expected to grow at a healthy albeit more moderate pace. Risks to the outlook persist due to lingering uncertainty over the evolution of the pandemic and the spread of new Covid-19 variants. FocusEconomics panelists see GDP expanding 3.9% in 2021 and 3.4% in 2022, which up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast.
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ECONOMIC OUTLOOK |
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Dominican Republic Economic Growth |
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This year, the economy is set to accelerate due to faster U.S. growth boosting remittances, a high vaccination rate and fiscal and monetary support. However, instability in Haiti could contribute to refugee flows, potentially stoking social tensions and thus posing a downside risk. Growth should slow in 2022, partly due to a tougher base effect. FocusEconomics panelists see the economy growing 8.9% in 2021 and expanding 5.0% in 2022, which unchanged is from last month’s forecast.
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More news from Dominican Republic
Banco Central RD - 'Governor Valdez Albizu announces that the economy expands 12.7% in January-September 2021.' Read more: https://bancentral.gov.do/a/d/... DR1 - 'Russians stake claim of Dominican beach destinations; New record set for longest direct flight from Siberia.' Read more here: https://dr1.com/forums/threads... Forbes CentroAmérica –: 'Dominican Republic signs agreement to be a full member of CAF' (The Corporacion Andina de Fomento), the Development Bank of Latin America. Read more: https://forbescentroamerica.co...
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EL SALVADOR ECONOMIC OUTLOOK |
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El Salvador Economic Growth |
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This year, the economy should regain some of 2020’s pandemic-induced losses. Next year, growth is forecast to cool, partly due to a less favorable base effect and as domestic and foreign demand stabilize. The outlook is clouded by weak fiscal metrics and debt sustainability concerns, as well as IMF warnings over the Bitcoin law’s potential threat to macro stability. Our panelists see GDP expanding 7.4% in 2021 and 2.6% in 2022, which is down 0.2 percentage points from last month’s forecast.
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More news from El Salvador
Forbes CentroAmérica – ‘Salvadoran bets on chocolate of excellence in agroecological space.’ Read more: https://forbescentroamerica.co... Nearshore Americas : 'El Salvador’s Bullish Growth Spreads Across Software and BPO.' Read more: https://nearshoreamericas.com/... Revista Suma - 'El Salvador's economy grows 24.5% in the second quarter of 2021'
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GUATEMALA ECONOMIC OUTLOOK |
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Guatemala Economic Growth |
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The economy is forecast to expand at a softer pace in 2022 after rebounding strongly this year, although this will be due to a less favorable base effect, with domestic and foreign demand set to remain robust as restrictive measures are further relaxed. That said, a potentially prolonged health crisis due to a low vaccination rate and political tensions cloud the outlook. FocusEconomics panelists estimate the economy to grow 4.6% in 2021 and to expand 3.6% in 2022, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month.
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More news from Guatemala
BCIE / CABEI - 'CABEI Approves US$1.5 Million Credit Line to Banco INV, S.A. to Finance the Business and Housing Sector in Guatemala.' Read more: https://www.bcie.org/en/news-a... Nearshore Americas - 'TCS Opens in Guatemala as Nearshore Demand Surges.' Read more : https://nearshoreamericas.com/... Biz Latin Hub - 'Financial Regulatory Compliance in Guatemala: a Guide.' Read more: https://www.bizlatinhub.com/fi... The 20th AGRITRADE Expo & Conference, the most important Agri-business platform of the region to take place in Santo Domingo del Cerro-La Antigua Guatemala on March 23—25, 2022. Read more: article
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HONDURAS ECONOMIC OUTLOOK |
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Honduras Economic Growth |
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After recovering this year, the economy is forecast to expand at a somewhat softer pace in 2022 as the base effect fades. That said, the rollback of restrictive measures should support domestic and foreign demand. The outlook is clouded by lingering uncertainty over the course of the pandemic amid the emergence of new strains of Covid-19. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists see the economy expanding 6.8% in 2021 and growing 4.0% in 2022, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast.
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More news from Honduras
Forbes CentroAmérica – 'Honduran president says civil aviation is a priority The president recalled that the Palmerola International Airport will also be a logistics center for the Americas.' Read more: https://forbescentroamerica.co... Nearshore Americas - 'Honduras and Its “Brilliant People” Inspired US Entrepreneur’s Unique Journey. Read more: https://nearshoreamericas.com/... Biz Latin Hub - 'FDI Leaps 60% as More Foreigners Invest in Honduras.' Read more: https://www.bizlatinhub.com/in...
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NICARAGUA ECONOMIC OUTLOOK |
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Nicaragua Economic Growth |
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The economy is seen bouncing back to growth this year, supported by a tighter labor market and ample stimulus in the U.S., which should bolster remittances and help household spending recover. Next year, GDP growth should moderate as the favorable base effect subsides. A slow domestic vaccine rollout and heightened political tensions dampen the outlook. FocusEconomics panelists see GDP expanding 4.2% in 2021 and 2.1% in 2022, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecasts.
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More news from Nicaragua
Nicaragua Exporta – 'Dimex Nicaragua: Hand in hand with quality in the Food Industry.' Read more: https://revistanicaraguaexport... El 19 Digital - 'The first natural gas plant in Central America is in Nicaragua. Construction of the first natural gas plant in Central America, located in Puerto Sandino, Nicaragua, progresses by 80%. It is expected to start operating at the end of October 2021. Read more: https://www.el19digital.com/ar... Energia Limpia XXI - 'Geothermal energy remained the queen of renewables in Nicaragua during the month of August.' Read more: https://energialimpiaparatodos...
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Panama Economic Growth |
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After gaining pace this year, the economy should continue to grow markedly in 2022, driven by buoyant mining activity, returning tourism and higher traffic in the Panama Canal amid recovering world trade. That said, activity is not likely to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2023. Longer term, the G7’s Build Back Better World infrastructure project poses an upside risk. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists foresee the economy expanding 11.0% in 2021. For 2022, the economy is seen growing 6.4%, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast.
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More news from Panama
Canal de Panamá - 'The Panama Canal closed its fiscal year 2021 with a record-breaking annual tonnage of 516.7 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS), coming in 8.7% higher compared to the 2020 fiscal year (FY20), looking ahead to secure a sustainable future.' Read more: https://www.pancanal.com/eng/p... Forbes CentroAmérica – 'Panama industry resists crisis but urges legal security to grow Panamanian industrial activity faces high production costs derived from the deficit of infrastructures such as roads and ports’. Read more: https://forbescentroamerica.co... ForbesCA - ''Panama is "on a crusade to get off the lists," the Government told the FATF’ (Financial Action Task Force). Read more: https://forbescentroamerica.co...
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MORE NEWS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA |
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