| CORPORATE RELOCATION | Why Corelo? For most avid observers, the news that many corporations are relocating some or all of their operations out of North America is hardly earthshaking.
After all, who could forget Haliburton’s overnight announcement last March that it was moving its headquarter out of Houston … 3M’s mid-June announcement that it, too, was heading offshore … or Pfizer’s announcement just last week that it was closing plants onshore and doubling its offshore presence?
But, the fact is, those were just the harbinger of things to come. Top business analysts are now predicting that within the next few years, that co-relo trickle could quickly become a torrent. “Near-sourcing” in the Caribbean Basin has become a major growth industry. And we intend to keep you informed as the story unfolds!
As “Offshore Times” recently reported, “Call centers – the best-tracked segment of the outsourcing industry – have grown an average of 54% a year in the Caribbean since 2002 … And near-sourcing proponents see the offshore movement getting a large boost with the implementation of CAFTA, a landmark trade treaty designed to lift business restrictions among the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic.”
Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Trinidad & Tobago and others are offering companies a myriad of financial benefits too good to pass up.
Virtually every country in the Caribbean – east and west alike – now has unprecedented “Free Trade Zones” (in fact, all of Honduras is a FTZ). And the benefits are literally out of this world for companies currently operating north of the Rio Grande.
These benefits invariably include:
 100% exemption on import duties on raw materials, manufacturing equipment, and capital goods
100% exemption on export taxes, local taxes, excise taxes, and taxes on profit repatriation No corporate income taxes (usually for 10 to 20 years) No personal income taxes (on income earned outside of host country) Expedited on-site customs clearance Hourly wages 1/10 to 1/20 of those in North America Very often, subsidies for job training and even (as in Costa Rica) payroll wages No wonder the list of companies moving all or part of their operations to the Caribbean Basin is growing exponentially.
WHOSE DOING IT? And they’re joining such well-established offshore manufacturers as Motorola, Acer America, Panasonic, Levi Strauss & Company, Hanes Knitware, Rawlings, Siemans, Hitachi, GTE Sylvania, and Intel. The trickle is, indeed, becoming a torrent.
Perhaps what’s most important to Caribpro.com and its readers is that the corporate relocation revolution provides win-win opportunities for everyone involved – including you. As both real and “virtual citizens” of the Caribbean, we’re always concerned about the residents of the countries we write and read about.
WHO WINS? Everybody. For the peoples of Honduras, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, and elsewhere, corporate relocation means higher wages, better working conditions, and a chance to learn new and marketable skills.
For the companies relocating, the move means more competitive pricing, new markets, and the chance to re-invest profits in corporate growth and innovation.
As one Maryland furniture maker recently explained, “With the escalating wages, red tape, and onerous regulations here, I simply have to look elsewhere. It’s either that, or shut down completely. Now, I have a choice.”
And for you, co-relo means renewed opportunities to look to the Caribbean not only for a better lifestyle at lower prices – but also for high-level management or consulting positions with the plethora of new companies now setting up shop. | |  Dan Taylor, the owner of KEYHOLE BAY
Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras
will be one of the
Speakers at the Honduras Conference.
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KEYHOLE BAY....includes single-family estate home sites and luxury condominiums in breathtaking hillside and seaside settings.
Call it an “island paradise” … or a “sunlit Eden” … Call it “the most exclusive community – and best investment - in the beautiful Bay Islands … Or simply call it “Keyhole Bay”…
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"Welcome to Keyhole Bay..."
These luxury condominiums – there will be only 45 in all – are the final stage of a private Caribbean community catering only to those who are accustomed to enjoying the finer things in life.
For more information:
CLICK HERE | | |
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