President Mujica and VP Astori want to encourage more foreign developers to launch projects in Uruguay.
After the U.S.’s $787 billion Grow Government package which Harvard essentially labeled a failure, it’s refreshing to hear about a stimulus package that could actually create jobs, promote development and provide some much needed housing.
Montevideo’s LR21 reports today on the Uruguay government’s decision to promote a series of fiscal stimulus measures to incentivize private investment in the construction of new homes and condominiums. The President and Vice President of the Republic, Jose Mujica y Danilo Astori, made the announcement yesterday at a luncheon hosted by the APPCU, the Association of Private Developers in Uruguay.
While some members of the U.S. Congress seem completely out of touch with the private sector, President Mujica said he values interaction with groups like APPCU to better understand the needs and challenges facing leaders in the country’s most important job creating sectors. Vice President Astori also acknowledged the critical role national and foreign developers will play in realizing one of the priorities of the Mujica administration, “promoting tourism-related real estate development which provides tremendous revenue and job creation for Uruguay.”
And while national builders still account for the bulk of new construction, Astori officially rolled out the light blue carpet for foreign developers. “These incentives are as much for national investors as they are for foreign groups who can collaborate with the public sector in developing new projects,” Astori said adding, “National investors dominate housing construction, while in the real estate tourism sector, we are hoping for more foreign investment.” (Full Story in Spanish)
[...] Back-to-back stories this week from MercoPress highlight the tourism attraction and real estate growth in Uruguay’s two leading destinations: Montevideo and Punta del Este. The statistics are encouraging, as they demonstrate some positive regional trends: more inbound visitors from countries besides Argentina, the long-standing number one for tourism exports to Uruguay, and a greater willingness among Uruguayans to explore other corners of the Southern Cone. In fact, Uruguayans posted triple-digit gains of citizens visiting Paraguay (+228% ) and Chile (+102%). Of those foreigners visiting Uruguay, the numbers reflect the economic status quo in key international markets: almost 25% more real-empowered Brazilians and 7% fewer visitors from the U.S. Montevideo’s cultural and urban Renaissance is finally being reflected in the tourism numbers, as more visitors made MVD their primary destination in the first six months of 2010 compared to Punta del Este. But don’t feel bad for PDE. Data released last week by the country’s Tourism Office shows $1.5 billion USD in real estate transactions taking place in the popular beachside destination over the past 18 months alone. The government estimates approximately 18.2 million square feet of new residential construction has been built in the last five years and—given current absorption rates—it’s not surprising the Mujica government is encouraging more foreign investment. [...]
[...] gaming sector should also continue to grow thanks to the Mujica administration’s pro-foreign investment stance which will encourage more casino projects in Montevideo, Punta del Este and even interior towns [...]
[...] interest rates like the successful Chilean model. Pro-investment policies also need to be enacted à  la Uruguay to give foreign developer groups greater incentives to invest in this vital sector of the economy. [...]
[...] Spanish investors are now targeting, encouraged in part by the pro-foreign investment posture of the Mujica administration. Pita points to some high profile projects like Abengoa’s €72 million, 35-windmill farm in [...]
[...] the pro-Uruguay, pro-development speech by Vice President Danilo Astori. InvestBA has chronicled the positive outreach of the Mujica administration to the developer community, and Astori’s comments were further [...]