Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Contends for Role as Chief of WTO
January 7th, 2013BY STAFF REPORT
Costa Rica’s Foreign Trade Minister Anabel González has been named as a candidate for the post of WTO (World Trade Organization) Director General.
If elected, González would assume office by the end of this year, replacing Frenchman Pascal Lamy.
Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla has praised hes foreign minister saying she is “positively recognized” by the international community. González headed the WTO Agricultural Division between 2005 and 2009.
According to Costa Rica News, González has promised that if elected she would create an agenda to drive growth and development in all countries. According to the paper, she negotiated the free trade agreement (FTA) between Central America and the United States.
Gonzalez, who became the foreign trade minister in May 2010, had shouldered the responsibility of formulating and implementing trade and investment policies in the country.
“I will make every effort to support the candidacy of this great Costa Rican, who …
Convergys Opens Fourth Contact Center in Costa Rica
December 10th, 2012BY STAFF REPORT
Convergys Corporation is seeking to hire as many as 500 people in San Jose, Costa Rica, where the global BPO provider has opened its fourth contact center.
The new facility is located on Boulevard de Rohrmoser in San Jose.
Convergys already has more than 2000 employees working at its contact centers in Heredia and San Jose, making it among the largest global services employers in the country. (Other well known foreign companies in the services space include HP, IBM and Infosys, which last month revealed its plans for Costa Rica.)
President Laura Chinchilla, who was present at the launch event, expressed support for Convergys’ expanding footprint in the country. Costa Rica’s trade promoter CINDE has stated that Convergys had now become one of the ten leading employers in the service sector.
“With the expansion, the company reaffirms the vote of confidence it has placed in our country and …
Costa Rica’s Free Trade Zones Not Looking So “Free” After All
October 18th, 2011
Chinchilla is at odds with the head of CINDE, Costa Rica's lead investment agency
By Luke Bujarski
Costa Rica’s system of free trade zones may not be “free” for much longer, if a controversial tax on products and services exporters gets bundled into the government’s latest deficit reduction plan. While local authorities, including President Laura Chinchilla, confirmed with Nearshore Americas that the new tax proposal would not affect existing companies, many are worried that a change to current policy would rock the proverbial boat, and send mixed signals to an otherwise bullish foreign investment community. NSAM also notes that a policy which favors existing companies over new entrants could open the door for hostilities between the public and private sector.
Costa Rica Caught in the Crosshairs of the Drug War
October 6th, 2011Source: Global Post
The slogan is included on all government communiques, per order of the president: “Construimos un pais seguro,” or “We’re building a secure country.”
But Costa Ricans are losing faith that security can be restored. Economic woes used to be what most kept them up at night; nowadays, crime wobbles the nation’s worry jar.
Nearly half of Costa Ricans consider citizen security the worst problem facing the country, the highest rate since the firm Unimer began polling on the issue in 2005.
From a global view, Costa Rica ranks among the safest, happiest countries in Latin America. But it has fallen prey to international organized crime and drug rings that authorities blame for a spike in violence, drug abuse and murder.
As drug gangs carve bloody swaths across Central America, seeds of cartel crime are sprouting in this country once believed to be a bastion of peace. The United Nations …
Chinchilla and CINDE Focus on Courting Investors in New York City
September 21st, 2011
By Luke Bujarski
Before heading over to the UN General Assembly, President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla took the morning to engage investors at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City. In addressing those lining up for a closer look at what the “Rich Coast” has to offer, Madame President left much of the talking around investment opportunities up to her senior delegation. Of course, the group would not have been complete without Mr. Jose Rossi, President of CINDE Costa Rica’s renowned investment promotional agency in charge of promoting the country as the “best export platform in the Western Hemisphere.”
IBM Commits to Another 1,000 Hires in Costa Rica, Dismissing Talk of a Labor Shortage
September 6th, 2011
Patrick Haller
When IBM launched a BPO operations in Costa Rica in 2004, the firm was cautiously optimistic about its potential. Over the last eight years, IBM has certainly shown that it has learned its way around San Jose. Carl Ingersoll (left), who has been Director of IBM Costa Rica for about a year, is now set to drive the operation ever further – hiring as many as 1,000 new employees over the next few years in an ambitious plan to ramp up exported services.
In an Exclusive Video Interview, President Laura Chinchilla Looks to Accelerate Investment by Reducing Bureaucratic Barriers and Educating More Engineers
San Jose, Costa Rica (PRWEB) July 22, 2010 – President Laura Chinchilla Miranda identified the three most important steps she will be taking to increase the flow of investment capital into Costa Rica during an exclusive interview with Nearshore Americas, the leading online media site dedicated to Latin America outsourcing and investment.
Chinchilla, who stepped into office in May, said that in order to sustain and expand foreign investment the
federal government must eliminate “complicated rules” that create a bureaucratic hurdle for investors. In
addition, the country must commit to enriching students with more exposure to science and technology. “We
need more engineers,” the president told Kirk Laughlin, the founder and editorial director of Nearshore
Americas. Finally, Chinchilla said logistics that enable the smooth flow of goods and services must also improve.
During …
Video: Laura Claims Victory in Costa Rica and Title of First Ever Female President in Central America
February 9th, 2010Laura Chinchilla enters Costa Rica’s history books after a landslide presidential election victory.
Click here to see an excerpt of her acceptance speech
Does Laura have a Lock on the Costa Rica Presidency?
February 5th, 2010A protege of outgoing President Oscar Arias could be elected Costa Rica’s first woman head of state on Sunday, though a conservative rival has upped his challenge ahead of the election.
Opinion polls show ruling party centrist Laura Chinchilla, who has promised to expand Costa Rica’s free trade pacts beyond the Western Hemisphere, within striking distance of the 40 percent of the vote needed to avoid a second round run-off.
A late surge by libertarian Otto Guevara, who wants to replace the local currency with the U.S. dollar and crack down on rising crime, could force an April run-off
An oasis of stability in politically turbulent and crime-plagued Central America, Costa Rica earned a reputation for environmental friendliness and peacemaking under Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his role in ending regional civil wars. He is now serving his second presidential term.
The country’s relatively smooth passage through …
