COSTA RICA
THE PLACE, THE PEOPLE, THE OPPORTUNITIES

Our beautiful paradise is located in the middle of the American Continent. It stretches across 51,100 square kilometers (19,730 square miles). Costa Rica is currently one of the top four economies in the world exporting high-technology and it also exports other services.

The country’s history, strategic location, business climate, solid infrastructure, quality of life – and mostly – its excellent human resources have been key elements in the trade of products and services concentrated in the knowledge, science, and technology fields.

Its beautiful landscapes – bordered by both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans – and lifestyles combine to tell one success story after the next about the world’s most important companies, whose operations have enriched our country’s economy.

Some advantages that companies can access by contracting CORAAL are:
1 Highly skilled, educated and flexible labor force necessary to archive complex customer requirements and customer satisfaction.

2 Low labor costs – wages 40%-80% lower than U.S.

3 Costa Rica’s track record in Business Process Outsourcing with brand names such as INTEL, P&G, BAXTER, IBM, HP, MAERSK, Western Union operating from the country

4 Very easy access: Direct daily flights from a number of cities in the US and Latin America. Located 2 ½ hours from Miami, and US citizens can enter the country without visa or passport, just with a picture Id. This allows very easy and inexpensive customer care, personnel training, audits, the will have an ever growing importance as of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

5 Costa Rica’s culture neutrality. Being a small country, so close to the US and not having an indigenous population resulted in an adoption of American culture into Costa Rica.

6 Highly reliable telecom infrastructure (along with 2 submarine cables and soon a 3rd) and world class accommodations.

7 Political stability and stable and secure business environment.

8 Stable and trustworthy legal system.

9 Very competitive Economy (World Competitiveness Forum Ranking)

10 Costa Rica standard time is the same EST and CST when the US starts its daylight savings time.

11 A Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Some of the advantages are:

• Warranties market access on current conditions should the US start taking protectionist actions.
• Strengthens legal framework to further reduce country risk.
• Integrates both economies US and Costa Rica together.
• Further increases assurance of Intellectual Rights