Cologne stands out more and more every day as a destination for investors who want to bet on Uruguay and search technology, full connectivity, human capital qualified, tax facilities and certainties of sustainability, but, above all, a sense of community, when making that decision.
This was stated by several investors of Argentine origin – who defined themselves as “adopted” by Colonia – within the framework of the Real Estate Buenos Aires Edition, which took place at the Hilton hotel in that city. Among them were Andres CastellanoCEO of Big Ben Developments; Agustín Battelliniowner of the La Vigna dairy farm; Pedro Melnitzkyowner of Comarca Las Liebres, and Martin de FreitasDirector of Tourism of the Municipality of Cologne.
Cologne It is the department with the lowest unemployment rate in the entire Uruguay and has the best educational level in secondary schools. On the other hand, it also has great logistical capacity since it is located one hour by boat from the capital. Argentina and also very close to Montevideo. Beyond its connection facilities, it also has great business development, as well as full connectivity throughout the department, as is the case throughout the country.
The community, the most important thing
Beyond the tangible, the speakers highlighted that the sense of community and human development is something very important within the field of business in Cologne. “Communities of families and businessmen are generated. That makes us different, generates more confidence and gives us another power that positions us in a very special way,” said De Freitas.
In that sense, the speakers highlighted that the ideals of equality They are reflected in the day-to-day life of the department. “We go to the beach with the same lounge chair, from the most glorious businessman to the last employee of the company and we are together drinking mate and looking at the river. This is manifested in a society where this is a value and an attribute that in many places is going to be lost, but in Cologne No,” Castellano stressed, highlighting that the department also has the qualities of a modern city.
A sense of freedom and promises of development
One of the aspects highlighted by the director of Tourism of the department is the fact that although Cologne has tourism development, there is still much to achieve. “There is much more to do, we are far from the tourist roof and the development ceiling and that has been greatly noticed by the businessmen who chose the department,” De Freitas explained.
In this sense, two large projects were named that promise to capitalize on the development of Cologne and promote employment. One of them is +Colognewhere the aim is to generate a pole of knowledge industry on a 500-hectare property with an investment of 500 million dollars. On the other hand, there is the Plata Free Zonethe project that recently obtained authorization from the Executive power for the production, marketing and export of services.
Meanwhile, the idea that economic cycles in the Uruguay, Unlike Argentina, They are much more predictable, allowing safe maneuvering. “Uruguay It has much more uniform and predictable decline processes over time, with truly acceptable returns for the global world,” explained Castellano.
In that sense, Battellini added a saying from the president Luis Lacalle Pou according to which Uruguay “You will earn little money in a long time”, thus referring to economic stability.
colony 2.jpg
Why invest in Uruguay?
During the event, the investment and post-investment manager of Uruguay XXI, Alejandro Ferrari, He gave a talk about the three reasons why it is convenient to invest in Uruguay. The first of the three pillars offered to investors is the reliability and certainties, the second corresponds to the ease of doing business and, finally, a qualified talent and high quality of life.
Regarding reliability and certainty, Ferrari commented that Uruguay has been leading several rankings of democracy, low corruption, rule of law, social mobility and institutionality in Latin America, where it even surpasses European countries. Meanwhile, one of the outstanding attractions is the possibility of a sustainable development – a requirement increasingly requested by investors – since it has more than 94% of its energy matrix made up of renewable energy, placing him number two in the world.
Regarding the ease that the country offers for business, it gives some guarantees such as the equal treatment For both foreigners and locals, the existence of a free exchange marketas well as the certainty of a single tax system and freedom for repatriation of profits. In that sense, Ferrari highlighted that this is an asset of the Uruguayan political system, highlighted by the fact that the investment system remains the same as it has been for 30 years, with some necessary improvements.
Source: Ambito
