AstraZeneca Unveils Financial Services Center in Costa Rica

British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has established a financial services center in Costa Rica for providing finance and accounting (F&A) services to its clients within the Americas.

Named the Integrated Finance Solutions (IFS) Americas Center, the new site is located in capital San Jose, and will create nearly 100 jobs, mainly for accounting professionals, according to Cinde, Costa Rica’s investment promotion agency.

While the company already has regional offices that oversee its operations in Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador, and Peru, Costa Rican officials claim that it chose the country for its availability of local accounting professionals.

“This selection has been based on the human talent of our people and their capacity to innovate,” said Ana Helena Chacon Echeverria, Vice President of Costa Rica in a press release.

Agustin Lamas, Regional President for AstraZeneca, stated that political stability and legal security motivated the company to choose Costa Rica.

“The investment comes to demonstrate the confidence that AstraZeneca has placed in the country and the capacity of the Costa Rican talent to achieve further growth of the company, not only at the local level but in all America,” said Antonio Padilla, Director of the IFS.

The services industry has grown to become a major employer in the Central America country. According to Cinde, the sector has employed more than 51,000 people.

The amount of services exports from Costa Rica has grown five fold since 2000, reaching US$4.59 billion in 2016.

“For our country, the services sector is one of the main factors responsible for the economy´s dynamism and therefore, employment,” said Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica.