Chile among Top 20 Countries for Doing Business

July 12, 2009 in Business, Government by allan | No comments

From El Mercurio and The Santiago Times:

Chile is one of the top 20 best countries for doing business, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2009 Global Enabling Trade Report.

The report, published for the second time, included 121 economies, assessing the institutions, policies, and services they offer to facilitate the flow of goods across borders. In WEF’s 2008 analysis Chile ranked 27th, but this year it jumped to the 19th position, beating out Spain, Italy, Japan, and China. The improved ranking comes despite greater caution in the business community and a world-wide tendency to strengthen trade barriers due to the current economic slump. Read the rest of this entry »

Australia Chile free trade agreement becomes effective

March 10, 2009 in Business, Government by allan | No comments

From mercopress.com:

The Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement came into force on Saturday 6 March, the first trade agreement between Oceania and a Latinamerican country. Besides trade the agreement covers services, investments, government purchases and intellectual property plus a special chapter on academic and scientific cooperation. Read the rest of this entry »

Chile’s economy gradually approaching recession

March 10, 2009 in Business, Government by allan | No comments

From mercopress.com:

Chile’s economy is forecasted to expand 0.2% in 2009 according to the latest Central Bank Expectations Survey compiled during March. This is a significant drop from the previous survey in February when the forecast was 1.2%. Read the rest of this entry »

Economic Stimulus Package Announced

January 6, 2009 in Business, Government by allan | No comments

President Bachelet announced a $4.0 Billion economic stimulus package on Monday, which is an amount equivalent to 2.8% of  GDP.  The plan seeks to stimulate economic growth of 2 to 3 percent, and cause the direct or indirect creation of more than 100,000 jobs. Read the rest of this entry »

President Bachelet Announces 2000 Scholarships for English

October 10, 2008 in Business, Government by allan | No comments

President Michelle Bachelet on Thursday announced the availability of two thousand scholarships for English in 2009, that will benefit students and professionals in the area of technology throughout Chile.

During 2008, a thousand young people obtained this benefit, which is part of a goal to have 6,000 people gain English proficiency before Chile’s bicentennial in 2010.

During the announcement, the president stressed that despite the complex international economic arena, the Government will continue to support human capital formation and responsible funding in its social policies. Read the rest of this entry »

Chile moves up one position in global IT competitiveness index

September 17, 2008 in Business, Government, Technology by allan | No comments

(From El Mercurio) SANTIAGO.- According to a study performed by the Intelligence Department of The Economist, and sponsored by Business Software  Alliance (BSA), Chile currently occupies the 30th position of a global competitiveness ranking for the Information Technology (IT) sector.

The country climbed one slot compared to 2007 and is positioned 3rd in the Americas, coming in behind the United States (Nº1 in the world) and Canada (Nº6 in the world). Read the rest of this entry »

Chile leads Latin America in financial market ranking

September 11, 2008 in Business, Government by allan | No comments

(from El Mercurio)

GENEVA.- According to the first financial development ranking of the World Economic Forum, Chile currently leads the Latin American economies and is ranked at number 30 out of a total of 52 global markets.

The report indicates that the positive institutional and business atmosphere is the key reason why Chile has been listed as number 1 in Latin America. Read the rest of this entry »

Santiago hosts 2009 Americas Competitiveness Forum

August 29, 2008 in Business, Events, Government by allan | No comments

One of the announcements made at the Georgia-Chile “Building Bridges” seminar (see my previous posts) was that the Americas Competitiveness Forum — which was in Atlanta this year — would be hosted in Santiago in 2009.

GlobalAtlanta interviewed several of the key individuals after our meeting at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and wrote a good article on the subject.  You can find it here.

“Building Bridges” Seminar a Success

August 24, 2008 in Business, Events, Government by allan | No comments

Last week brought 15 Chilean companies to Atlanta, culminating in a productive session on Wednesday between company and government officials from both Chile and Georgia.  The meeting took place at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and featured speakers including Mariano Fernández (the Chilean Ambassador to the US), Ken Stewart (Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development), Hugo Lavados (Chile’s Economic Minister) and Walter Bastian from the US Commerce Department.

I spoke on my successful experience establishing software development and IT operations in the country, and Mary Smith described Delta Airline’s experience establishing a call center in Santiago. Read the rest of this entry »

Americas Competitiveness Forum Underway This Week

August 19, 2008 in Business, Events, Government by allan | No comments

There are quite a few dignitaries in Atlanta this week, taking part in the Americas Competitiveness Forum. The conference is organized by the US Department of Commerce, the International Trade Administration, the City of Atlanta, and CIFAL Atlanta.

Notable speakers include…

Read the rest of this entry »

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