Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla Miranda announced intentions to ease bureaucratic regulations in order to increase the flow of investment into the nation.

The elimination of unnecessary and complicated red tape measures will help sustain and increase the growth of foreign investment to the region, and enhance the global competitiveness of Costa Rica.

The government will decrease the time consuming process of obtaining licenses, documents and permits to set up businesses in Costa Rica. Currently, registration procedures are handled manually, prompting experts to suggest the adoption of a digital system to speed up the process.

The President and the Economic Minister said that they will digitise the foreign business establishment process and cut down on excessive documentation.

Costa Rica is moving towards a liberalised telecommunications market to break the traditional monopoly and maintain competitiveness in this industry. However this is moving at a slow pace ever since the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the US in 2009. The lack in competition has a negative impact on the economy as it discourages innovation.

The economy declined by 2.5 per cent in 2009 as exports were badly affected by the global economic crisis. It also ranks 121^st out of 183 countries in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index this year, highlighting that excessive bureaucratic red tape affects innovation and investment. Costa Rica is however the easiest country in Latin America to start a foreign business according to the World Bank’s Investing across Borders 2010 study. The study analyses regulations and steps required for the establishment of business operations in countries.