Doing business abroad is always a high-risk strategy, no matter your mode of entry into the market. You are hundreds, often thousands of miles from home, in a foreign jurisdiction, with a foreign language, customs and cultures to contend with.
So why Chile?
In Latin America there is no competition! It is the best evaluated economy in the region, with an average annual growth rate of 4.8%, a growth rate that has remained unchecked since 2004.
Additionally, it has signed 23 free trade agreements with over 60 countries and holds double taxation agreements with over 25 countries including Australia. Through FTAs and similar agreements, Chile has preferential access to markets representing 93% of global GDP.
Chile’s trophy cabinet is indeed glistening.
According to the 2012 Doing Business Report Chile was ranked number 1, in the region, in terms of the ease of conducting business. Further, the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom, concluded Chile was the 7th freest economy – behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland. As a global leader in economic freedoms, Chile has a firm rule of law, backed by an independent and efficient judicial system and further manages to keep public debt and financial management under control. Added to this Chile’s flexibility and openness it has created an environment that actively promotes entrepreneurial activity. Finally, Chile ranks as the second least corrupt country in Latin America, Behind Uruguay. According to Transparency International’s latest index, Chile ranked 22 out of 177 countries worldwide.
Harris Gómez Group is an international multidisciplinary firm based in Chile, South America’s most stable, open and competitive economy. We specialize in cross border transactions between Australia (and other Common Law countries) and Latin America. With over 19 years of experience, we have a deep understanding of the legal and business cultures in both regions.
By combining the knowledge of our team of Australian and Chilean lawyers we can take your perspective coming in to the region:
– We help remove the uncertainties of doing business in a foreign market.
– Create the best business and taxation structures to comply with both jurisdictions.
– Help you manage risk of undertaking business overseas to the parent company, its subsidiary and its directors.
– Manage expectations by understanding how your business works and the dynamics of industry in the jurisdiction you are entering.
Whether you are an Australian businesses going into Latin America or a Latin American businesses going into Australia and Asia we believe that your business needs to be strategic and take a regional approach; we asses where you are currently doing business, what new markets you intend to enter in the future and help you plan from there.
