Argentina is the third largest economy in Latin America, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately US$450 billion, which places it in the sights of the most important investors in the world.

According to the World Bank, Argentina is the third largest economy in Latin America, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately US$450 billion, which places it in the sights of the most important investors in the world.

It also has great world recognition for being one of the most industrialized nations in the region, reaching a production of 58 billion dollars the previous year. Among the main sectors, in terms of gross production value, are food processing, beverages, chemical and pharmaceutical products, motor vehicles and auto parts, coke and nuclear fuel production, and oil refining.

The Argentine Investment and International Trade Agency also highlights that the country has a privileged territory in its 2.8 million square kilometers, where there are from extraordinary fertile lands for the agricultural industry, passing through the abundant natural resources to develop its great potential in the generation of clean energies and its important reserves of gas and lithium.

Additionally, during the health crisis, its great capacity to supply food to the world was evidenced, which positioned it as a leading country in food production, with mature and robust large-scale industries in the agriculture and cattle ranching sectors. Likewise, it also generated great opportunities in some manufacturing subsectors and in the innovative high-tech services sector.

From a sectoral perspective, Argentina has a highly diversified economy, the primary sector is internationally recognized due to its high level of productivity and the use of state-of-the-art technology. The most developed industrial area is made up of key sectors such as agribusiness, the automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical and petrochemical industries, and biotechnology and manufacturing design. The services sector is the one with the largest share of GDP and represents more than 47.8% at constant prices.

Therefore, Argentina offers a wide variety of opportunities for investors in its different sectors where the Government has designed regulatory frameworks to regulate them and to encourage investment in sectors such as:

• Some government institutions work hand in hand with some associations with the aim of working together to strengthen entrepreneurship, which opens up an important and profitable opportunity to establish a consulting business.
• The nation has managed a robust project for the Promotion of Productive Innovation, which helps companies that are based on knowledge.
• There is an Entrepreneur Law that seeks to favor and give some advantages to those who want their own business, giving better conditions and simple regulations to entrepreneurs, helping them to develop their ideas more easily and with less administrative bureaucracy.
• The new entrepreneur's law benefits the creation of SAS (Simplified Stock Companies), allowing them to access benefits, such as constituting a CUIT or CDI in 24 hours. It also makes it easier for them to open bank accounts quickly and easily.
• Companies can be opened with a capital with only two minimum salaries and a single partner.

Finally, another aspect that both local and foreign entrepreneurs or investors benefit from is that Argentina has a young population with a high level of education and a good command of English.

Strategic location

Located at the southern end of the American continent, Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world and the second largest in Latin America in terms of land area. It has access to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Magellan and borders Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay. This makes it easier for you to access a regional market of more than 240 million people approximately.

The nation, which is divided into 4 large regions: Patagonian, Cuyo, Central and Northern Grande Argentino, has in its extensive territory a great variety of geographical characteristics, biodiversity and multiplicity of climates and topographies. This allows the development of crops and productive activities throughout its territory.

Solid economic structure

Argentina has positioned itself as the third economy with the highest GDP in Latin America, since, according to World Bank data, it reached US $450 billion, while GDP per capita reached 10,000 dollars.

This has been achieved in part thanks to the abundant natural resources in energy and agriculture, distributed in its 2.8 million square kilometers, where there are generously fertile lands, gas and lithium reserves, as well as an extraordinary potential in renewable energies.

Additionally, Argentina leads food production, with robust industries of international stature, in the agriculture and cattle ranching sectors. It also offers great opportunities in some manufacturing subsectors and in the high-tech innovative services sector.

Currently the nation is in an interesting process of sustainable economic development, where social inclusion and integration into the world economy are involved.

Economic growth

Argentina has a highly diversified economy and a world-renowned primary sector for its high levels of productivity and the application of state-of-the-art technology. The nation has a developed industrial character, where agribusiness and the automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical, petrochemical, biotechnology and design manufacturing industries stand out.

The traditional services sector, in addition to being well developed in the nation, is gradually specializing in the most sophisticated segments of the value chain, with the growth of the software industry and services related to information technology (IT) standing out, as well as a variety of professional services with high added value.

In recent years, the Argentine government has dedicated itself to designing and executing an ambitious program of structural reforms, in order to eradicate some of its macroeconomic imbalances, through the implementation of priority reforms such as the unification of the exchange rate, the agreement with international creditors, the modernization of the import regime, and the reform of the national statistics system.

Strong foreign trade

Thanks to the strong network of agreements, Argentina has achieved an important regional and international interconnection. This nation is a founding member of the WTO and actively participates in the multilateral trading system of this organization, which allows it to access a market of approximately 295 million consumers.

Additionally, the country is a member state of MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay), where since 1995, a common external tariff has been established and most products enjoy a 0% internal tariff. This alliance between the five nations has allowed them to form a total GDP of approximately 4.7 billion dollars.

Currently, Argentina has established various bilateral agreements with more than 60 countries focused on investment, including preferential trade agreements with India, Israel, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Morocco. Furthermore, as a member of Mercosur, Argentina has actively participated in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations and its existing agreements.

According to the Argentine Investment and International Trade Agency, among its main trading partners for both export and import are Brazil, China and the United States, both for export and import.

61% of the products sent to Brazil are transport material and plant or crop products. More than 44% of soybean derivatives are exported to China, while derivatives from the petroleum, chemical or related industries (24%), common metals and derivatives (17%) are sent to the United States.

Modern infrastructure

The nation has a high-quality road infrastructure to support the distribution of its products and to be able to reach export markets on time. Currently, Argentina has 37,500 kilometers of federal routes, which are in charge of the National Road Agency, an entity attached to the Ministry of Public Works.

The air transport network is made up of 55 airports, of which 22 are international. At this time, 8 of the Argentine provinces connect it with the rest of the world, such as Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe, Mendoza, Salta, Tucumán, Río Negro and Neuquén.

Argentina has a total of 101 ports throughout its territory and 40 port areas in the Atlantic Ocean. While in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA), there is a port that concentrates 60% of the country's cargo containers, in the province of Buenos Aires there are 10 and in the Patagonian region 15, which have specialized mainly in the transport of oil and fish.

Likewise, in the province of Santa Fe there are 3 ports through which grain exports are shipped and in the northeast region there are 11 more ports. During 2020, 5 million containers and 159 million tons were transported from Argentine ports.

Profitable scenario for investment

Argentina is one of the South American countries with the most attractive and profitable business environment in a wide variety of sectors, which has helped it to be recognized in the top 5 of the best South American countries in terms of Foreign Direct Investment stocks (FDI) and FDI inflows.

According to data obtained from studies by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), direct foreign investment grew by 138% year-on-year during the first quarter of 2021.

This has been ratified by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), which emphasized that foreign investments reached some 3 billion dollars, representing about 3% of its Gross Domestic Product. This has been achieved in part due to recent reforms and efforts by the Argentine government to encourage local producers and foreign investors. One of the most significant changes has been the end of capital controls and tax cuts, among others.

In accordance with Argentine regulations, foreign companies operating in the country can repatriate the full amount of their capital and income at any time. Foreign investment receives equal treatment with national investment. In addition, foreign entities have access to all economic sectors and are eligible for incentive programs and State acquisitions.

According to the Global Competitiveness report Index 2019 of the World Economic Forum, Argentina ranks 13th among the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean according to its Competitiveness.

Competitive human resource

According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), last year the Argentine population was a little over 45 million inhabitants, where more than 90% live in urban areas. According to the organization, this country has a young and educated population, occupying the third position in Latin America regarding the quality and coverage of education. A good command of English is also evident, standing out over emerging economies and becoming an attraction for foreign investors.

Due to the above, the country's human resources are highly appreciated by international investors when establishing a business or company in Argentina.

Diversity of natural resources

Without a doubt, Argentina has a geographically diverse and prosperous territory in terms of natural resources in energy and agriculture. For example, thanks to its 170 million hectares of arable land, it is considered to be a country with the highest levels of agricultural productivity in the world and the ninth largest area of productive land.

It also has important mining deposits of gold, silver, zinc, copper, oil, manganese, lithium, uranium and sulfur, distributed along the 4,500 kilometers of the Andes Mountains. It is also the owner of extensive wealth in aquifer deposits, maritime and fish resources, thanks to its hundreds of lakes, more than 11,000 kilometers of waterways and 4,725 kilometers of Atlantic coast. The Argentine continental shelf and the Argentine Sea are rich in fishing resources and hydrocarbons.

The country is also ranked third in the world in terms of shale oil and gas reserves, providing great opportunities for oil and gas exploration and exploitation. In addition, there is a high potential for development in the hydropower and renewable energy sectors.

Argentina is recognized worldwide for its natural wealth such as the Iguazú Falls, located in a subtropical jungle on the border with Brazil, which have 260 waterfalls up to 80 meters high and have been declared a Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO. and chosen among the seven wonders of nature in the world by the Swiss foundation New 7 Wonders; the Guarani Aquifer, shared with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, one of the largest freshwater reservoirs in the world; Cerro Aconcagua, which at 6,959 meters is the highest mountain peak in the Western Hemisphere; and the Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the most impressive in the world, also declared a Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO.