The government issued nine decrees for implementing Law No. 10234 on "Strengthening of Territorial Competitiveness for Attracting Investment Outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GMA)," which is an area made up of cities in the outskirts of San José such as Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago.

The law provides 11 incentives aimed at enhancing territorial competitiveness, speeding up paperwork, and opening up the development possibilities of sectors such as agroindustry, food industry, light manufacturing, tourism infrastructure and services in the cantons of these emerging regions, where close to 49% of the country’s population resides, said the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (Cinde).

Existing regulations provide legal security for setting up the operations of new domestic and foreign investment projects in cantons outside the GMA under the free trade zone model, thus helping to generate quality, formal jobs in different regions in the country.

“The law seeks to shrink gaps between regions within and outside the GMA, bringing job opportunities to regions where they are needed and enabling them to take advantage of the knowledge transfer contributed by multinational companies," Cinde Director Jorge Sequeira said.

The regions currently have the technical inputs of analysis and investment guides for potentiating the characteristics, main opportunities, and attractions they offer to investors. 

New incentives included in this new law, which promotes and enables institutions such as the National Learning Institute (INA), Ministry of Science, Technology, and Telecommunications (MICITT), Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) and Rural Development Institute (INDER), are to work toward strengthening their services in regions outside the GMA.

Incentives will also boost employment, both direct and indirect, for all types of profiles, from persons with little schooling to professionals, and promote reskilling and new skills for talent transformation.

The law also showcases opportunities for bolstering the production linkages of Costa Rican suppliers who to date sold more than $3.5 billion to companies set up under the free trade zone regime (FTZR).

This week, the rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) upgraded Costa Rica's credit rating.  They increased from a “B” to a “B+” rating. The improvement in the credit rating means that there is less risk for international investors.

Many international firms are investing in Costa Rica. Last week, the Houston, TX, U.S.A.-headquartered company, Serverless Solutions, opened its first office in the America Free Zone in Heredia Province.

Even though new businesses are creating jobs, the unemployment rate remains at 11.7%, according to the National Employment Survey. The data recorded from October to December 2022, shows that there are more than 287,000 people without registered jobs. Of these, 159,000 are women, making up 55% of unemployed people in the country.

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