PRONicaragua

Goodbox, a Taiwanese company specialized in manufacturing printed folding boxes, has confirmed it will be establishing operations in Nicaragua with plans to invest approximately US$5.4 million and generate 4,000 new job opportunities once fully operational.

Goodbox Group, whose slogan is ‘enrich your idea, decorate your packing’, manufactures its quality products for world-renowned international brands such as American Eagle, Diesel, Nine West and Hush Puppies. The company also services major retail chains, among them Macy’s, Target and JC Penny.

“Nicaragua’s manufacturing sector has been developing through the entry of prestigious international companies such as Goodbox that strengthen the industry and improve the country’s competitiveness”, commented Javier Chamorro Rubiales, Executive Director of PRONicaragua, the official investment promotion agency of Nicaragua.

The company’s home office is located in Taiwan, however it also has offices in China, branch offices for service in the U.S. and Dominican Republic and a factory in Vietnam.

To establish and deliver high quality standards, the company has developed extensive process control to ensure their products and customer satisfaction, including the SA80000, ISO14000, and ISO90001 quality assurance certificate. The company is also known for being environmentally friendly by using soy based ink for printing, water based varnishing and starch glue for lamination.

Founded in Tai Chung City, Taiwan in 1984, Goodbox Group is a well-known global company specialized in manufacturing printed folding boxes and other paperboard products for the footwear industry. Today, Goodbox Group is one of the few top leading box manufacturers in the industry and will continue to offer the finest quality and services with competitive prices to all its customers.

The company has 17 years of experience in exporting its boxes overseas to countries such as the U.S., Dominican Republic, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, El Salvador, the UK, Brazil, India, Italy and Denmark.

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Solamon Energy Corp. recently announced the company's intention to develop the largest solar array in Central America, comprising five locations across Nicaragua and delivering 100MW of new energy to the grid. Whether located on the east or west coast, each site chosen will be 50 acres and capable of generating 20MW of electricity; which could eventually also distributed to nearby countries, such as Costa Rica, Panama and Belize, through the Electrical Interconnection System for Central America network (SIEPAC, for its acronym in Spanish).

Solamon executives, led by Corey Keegan, have been actively traversing the country over the past year and agree the availability of flat land adjacent to transmission lines is the critical factor in making the decision to pursue the mega-project in Nicaragua. They also expressed the government has been committed to the viability of renewable energy and to dramatically decrease the country's dependence on oil imports within the next few years.

In confirming the company's interest in the region, Graeme Boyce, Solamon CEO, admits the country is now experiencing economic growth and enjoys political stability. “We feel the country is well on its way to re-establishing itself as the region's most robust economy, and is especially welcoming foreign-led investment initiatives,” commented Boyce, who is currently touring the country with Keegan, meeting senior business leaders and regulatory officials.

Currently, there are no solar arrays in Central America, yet there are several rooftop installations. “We've been vigilant and have been watching Nicaragua with great interest since visiting Costa Rica several years ago”, concludes Boyce. “We found Coast Rica to be eco-friendly but very expensive. Of course, Solamon will not be doing this project by ourselves and we'll rely on the expertise of others, including our partners at Glenn International, to build these large arrays.”

Solamon Energy provides renewable energy solutions to growing communities. The company provides a fully managed solution called the Apollo Acre, a turnkey process from beginning to end including site inspections, project design and development, as well as addressing requisite environmental and local permitting, third-party engineering, procurement and construction, as well as system testing and eventual commissioning, security and maintenance. The company also designs and installs custom solutions with local partners to provide roof-mounted and parking lot systems that could be easily augmented by micro wind turbine technology.

http://www.prlog.org/11738730-solamon-to-build-central-americas-largest-solar-array-in-nicaragua.html

For more information on Nicaragua, contact us at info@pronicaragua.org or visit www.pronicaragua.org.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently completed the seventh and final review of Nicaragua’s economic performance under its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. According the IMF, all quantitative performance criteria for June 2011 were met, and the structural agenda has developed as planned. Completion of the review allows for the final disbursement of US$8.74 million, totalizing disbursements to date of US$114.1 million.

Following the Executive Board discussion on Nicaragua, Mr. Min Zhu, Deputy Managing

Director and Acting Chair of the IMF Executive Board stated that “important steps have been taken to advance the structural reform agenda, including the approval of a law regulating the micro-finance sector and the introduction of norms requiring greater disclosure by financial cooperatives and trust funds. Significant progress has been made in managing and reporting aid flows, and continued improvements in this area would help foster confidence, facilitate macroeconomic management, and mobilize donor support”.

Additionally, Mr. Zhu confirmed that “the Nicaraguan economy grew strongly in the first half of 2011 despite deteriorating global conditions”. Nicaragua’s growth continues to be broad based on foreign investment inflows and official borrowing, which are expected to finance the external current account deficit and contribute to reserve accumulation in 2011.

“The Nicaraguan banking system remains generally sound. Banks are well capitalized, profitability continues to improve, and liquidity buffers remain ample. The authorities intend to step up their efforts to improve coordination and information exchanges with other regional supervisors and to monitor volatile aid-related deposits”, he added.

He also mentioned that efforts have been intensified to create space for investment and well-targeted assistance to the poor and that key structural reforms in the fiscal area include enhancing tax administration, broadening the tax base, and reforming the pension system and the civil service.

For more information contact us at pr@pronicaragua.org or visit www.pronicaragua.org

Nicaragua’s economic activity has shown high growth rates during 2011, according to the latest economic report published by the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN, for its acronym in Spanish). During the second quarter of 2011, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.2 percent, which represents an increase of 3.1 percentage points when compared to the second quarter of 2010.

BCN projections indicate that the Nicaragua economy will be growing 4 percent by the end of 2011. This projection is based mainly on a series of positive factors that include elevated prices of the country’s main export products, growth of the agribusiness and industrial sectors (including textiles), increase of private investment (national and foreign) and remittances.

In terms of international trade, during the January-August period, Nicaragua’s exports to the world added up to US$1,586 million, a 23.5 percent growth when compared to the same period in 2010. The main export products this year include coffee, gold, meat, beans and peanuts.

Nicaragua’s main export markets during the aforementioned period were United States with 30.9 percent of total exports, followed by Venezuela (11.8 percent), Central America (18.8 percent), Canada (11.4 percent) and Mexico (3.1 percent). These five markets represent nearly 75 percent of Nicaragua’s total exports.

Formal employment has also shown a positive growth trend during 2011. The number of people affiliated to the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security (INSS, for its acronym in Spanish) registered a 9.4 percent growth during the January-September period, when compared to the same period in 2010. According to figures published by INSS, the number of people affiliated as of September 2011 is 583,896.

Tourism continues to be one of the country’s main economic activities.  In the January-August period, the number of tourist arrivals reached 752,293, a 3.2 percent growth compared to the same period last year. 58 percent of these tourists came from the Central American region and 27.5 from North America. Tourism receipts during this period add up to US$256.7 million, a 19 percent growth compared to the same period last year.

Worldwide, the tourism industry has shown an increase in arrivals, which is consistent with the initial forecast of a 4 or 5 percent growth announced by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) at the beginning of 2011. After a resilient first semester of 2011 (440 million arrivals), the industry’s growth during the rest of the year might be more modest due to signs of a weakening international context, says the WTO.