Business environment Business environment Investor Guide February 2020 Index » 1. Business environment 1.1 Performance and economic structure 1.2 Economic policy 1.3 Trade policy 1.4 State and private services 1.5 Clear rules 1.6 Incentives for foreign investment » 2. Supporting infrastructure 2.1 Transport system 2.2 Telecommunications 2.3 Energy 2.4 Drinking water and sanitation » 3. Financial system 3.1 Banking system 3.2 Central Bank 3.3 Stock market 3.4 Insurance 3.5 International financial centre » 4. Intellectual rights, trademarks and patents 1 BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT » Reliable country » Extended market » Ease of doing business » Talent » Quality of life 4 5 Uruguay leads the main rankings of political stability and democratic strength in Latin America. This reflects the country’s strong democratic tradition, based on transparent government policy and broad economic freedom. Thanks to the favorable investment environment and the country’s good macroeconomic performance in recent years, Uruguay has positioned itself as a reliable and attractive destination for foreign investors. Furthermore, its strategic location and international agreements with the most important economies in Latin America promote the country’s development as a regional hub. The Mercosur (Southern Common Market), its associated states and the FTA with Mexico, make it possible for Uruguay to gain access to a market of 400 million people, which accounts for 90% of the GDP1 and 89% of the foreign2 trade flow in Latin America. The country has talented and highly competitive human resources, thanks to a combination of several factors, including the high quality of basic, technical and university training, the flexibility and ease with which Uruguayan workers can adapt to new production processes and technologies, and salaries that are competitive in the region. Uruguay is the most equitable country, with the lowest poverty levels and the highest proportion of middle class in Latin America. This allows Uruguay to distinguish itself as a friendly place to live, work and invest. In fact, Montevideo, where more than half of its population lives and works, is the city with the best quality of life in Latin America, according to Mercer (2019). 1.1 Performance and economic structure Uruguay has a small and open economy, with a growing projection towards the regional and international external market. Exports play a very important role for local productive development. The sector with the largest share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the service sector, which includes trade, telecommunications, financial services, real estate and other business services. 1 Source, Uruguay XXI based on data from WEO-IMF April 2019. 2 Source, Uruguay XXI based on Trademap data September 2019. 4 5 GDP composition by industry % of GDP 2018 7% Primary industries 13% Manufacturing industries Construction 49% 11% Trade, repairs, restaurants and hotels Transport, storage and 15% communication 6% Other services Source: Central Bank of Uruguay (CBU) (*) Includes financial intermediation; real estate, business and rental activities; public administration and defense, compulsory social security schemes; education; health; personal services; water, gas and electricity supply and private households with domestic service. The agricultural supply, which represents 7% of the gross domestic product (GDP), has an important contribution to the economy: it provides most of the raw materials for the manufacturing industry, with agro-industrial products accounting for 79% of the country’s exports. Uruguay has achieved sustained economic development, with 16 years of uninterrupted growth at an average rate of 4.1%. Since 2013, the World Bank has classified Uruguay as a high-income country. The gross national income per capita has continued to rise and reached US$ 17,165 in 2018. The country’s macroeconomic stability and strong institutional framework - with clear rules for the investor and an attractive investment promotion regime - allowed for the strong dynamism experienced by productive investment in recent years. GFCF and FDI growth % of GDP 25% Average: 2008 -2018 20% 15% Historic average 1970 - 2007 10% 5% 0% 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Source: Central Bank of Uruguay (CBU) 6 7 The economy’s investment - measured as gross fixed capital formation - is at high levels. For its part, the country has been characterized by a significant flow of foreign direct investment in all sectors of activity, which translates into a significant increase in the stock of FDI over GDP. Stock of IED (%GDP) 1980 - 2018 60% 47% 50% Uruguay 40% 32% 30% LAC 20% 10% 0% 19801 9902 000 Source: UNCTAD and CBU Additionally, prices show a stable behavior, with single-digit inflation rates. Inflation is expected to maintain the behavior of recent years due to an inflation targeting policy adopted by the Central Bank of Uruguay as of 2004. The deepening of the economic opening process led to a constant growth of foreign trade, both in goods and services, reaching record levels in recent years. In 2018, Uruguay exported goods to 160 countries. The active policy of reaching new markets, for the placement of goods outside the region, carried out by private and public actors, has managed to diversify the destinations of exports, decreasing the relative dependence on regional markets. Exports of goods and services Millons of US$ 14.000 Goods Services 12.000 10.000 8.000 6.000 4.000 2.000 0 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Source: Balance of Payments of the Central Bank of Uruguay 6 7 Within the exports of goods, the main items are: cellulose, beef, soybean, cellulose, dairy and other agro-industrial-based products; while in the export of services, tourism, global services and logistics services stand out, by virtue of Uruguay’s strategic geographical positioning in the region. Exports of goods and services by destination % of exports 3% 4% Asia and Middle East 11% 32% South America Europe North America 25% Africa 25% Others Source: Prepared by Uruguay XXI based on data from the National Customs Directorate of the MEF (Eastern Republic of Uruguay) 1.2 Economic policy Uruguay has a regime of total freedom in the movement of capital and foreign exchange from and abroad, and a free convertibility exchange system of its national currency. Moreover, Uruguay has gone through its longest period of economic growth. Since 2003, economic activity has grown uninterruptedly for 16 years, successfully weathering the international financial crisis of 2009 and withstanding recessionary pressures from the region in 2015-2018. On average, GDP grew by about 4.1% per year over the past decade. Net public debt ratios are at adequate levels (31.6% of GDP in 2018). Uruguay is also an investor grade country. This has been ratified by the main rating agencies: Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings, which have successively improved Uruguay’s debt rating. With regard to macroeconomic policies, public expenditure decisions are made based on the Budget Law approved during the first year of government, and subsequent annual reports. Fiscal discipline is reflected in the existence of a law limiting the annual variation of net indebtedness, which indirectly sets a restriction on the fiscal imbalances in which the government can incur. To ensure price stability, the CBU pursues an inflation-targeting policy. As an instrument for the achievement of this goal, the Monetary Policy Committee is based on the establishment of a base of monetary aggregates (amount of money in circulation). Uruguay stands out in Latin America for its high per capita income, low levels of inequality and poverty, and for having the largest proportion of the population within the middle class. According to the World Economic Forum, Uruguay has the highest levels of equity in the region. 8 9 The country ranks among the top countries in the region on various measures of well-being, such as the World Bank’s Human Development Index and Human Opportunity Index (Uruguay has managed to achieve a high level of equality of opportunity in terms of access to basic services, such as education, drinking water, electricity and sanitation). 1.3 Trade policy Uruguay was one of the first economies in Latin America to evolve towards open and unrestricted international trade. In 1991, Uruguay signed a treaty with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay that established the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), which accelerated the opening of the Uruguayan economy by establishing a progressive integration process, from a free trade zone to a Common Market. MERCOSUR provides for the free circulation of goods, services, and productive factors within the signatory countries through the progressive elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers. In turn, there is a Common External Tariff (CET) agreed by the signatory countries for almost all goods introduced into the area. The CET varies between 0% for capital goods and 20% for some consumer goods (clothing, household appliances, etc.). There are exceptions for some industries such as footwear, sugar and automobiles, for which the CET is higher than 20%, and which are listed as exceptions to the zero tariff at the intra-zone level. In addition to the aspects referred to in the Common External Tariff, its exceptions and adaptations by country, MERCOSUR has adopted decisions on the origin regime: the treatment of unfair internal trade practices in the expanded market, the bases for the defence of competition, public policies that condition competitiveness, the elimination or harmonization of non-tariff restrictions to trade and customs policy rules. Likewise, certain bases have been agreed upon to coordinate and harmonize macroeconomic policies relating to foreign trade, agriculture, industry, taxation, transport and other matters. It is important to point out that MERCOSUR offers companies installed and starting up activities in Uruguay access to a market of 400 million people, with a GDP of US$ 5.3 trillion, equivalent to the fourth largest economy in the world.