Young Argentines working in one of the offices in the new Buenos Aires Tech District.

WiFi connectivity, generous tax breaks, grants to cover the cost of quality certification, preferred lines of credit at local banks, and a government-sponsored training program to groom future talent. It may sound like a Christmas wish list, but it’s an emerging high tech reality in the Parque Patricios neighborhood thanks to the City of Buenos Aires. And according to Cronista, the list of goodies is attracting large multinationals and small start-ups alike. Iron Mountain and Clarín Global have both reserved office space, while India’s Tata Consultancy Services announced a new Global Delivery Center back in September. Cronista says small and medium-sized businesses (in Argentina, PYMEs or Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas) make up the majority of Argentina’s 1,600 tech companies, and 70% of those companies are located in Buenos Aires. Carlos Pirovano, Subsecretary of Investment for the City, says the number of companies working in the Distrito Tecnologico will more than double in 2010 to 50 with over 10,000 employees, so the City is investing in everything from a new fiber optic network to new subway stations to accommodate the growing talent pool. Another important development will be the launch of the Metropolitan Tech Center, an initiative to connect with secondary school students and groom the next generation of IT talent here in BA. (Full Cronista article).