Peru

Peru is a liberal economy enjoying more than six years of consecutive growth. The rate of growth for 2008 was 9.2 percent, which is one of the highest in the world. The country is the third largest in South America and within its territory one can find [Page 1282]almost all the world's climates. It is the world's largest producer of asparagus, paprika, flour and oil of fish, argent, and fiber of alpaca and vicuña. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated at US$109.069 billion in 2007.

Public debt as percentage of GDP has been decreased from 28 percent (2005) to 18.4 percent (2007) and the Net International Reserves were US$35.603 billion in April 2008. These figures offer stability to the economy and global financial institutions classify it as one of the best investment options in the Latin American region. This is partly due to the country's overall investment risk, which falls below the regional average. The private investment is more than US$20 billion each year; investors and consumers are more confident in the Peruvian economy. The rising disposable income of citizens and improved employment figures have boosted local demand. In turn, this demand has given rise to such dynamic sectors as manufacturing, services, and construction. The government and the private sector have recently focused on investing in construction; roads, offices, shopping centers, hotels, and new terminals for transportation have been built. However, the spread of infrastructure has been disproportionate and has not reached many parts of the population.

Peruvian exports are estimated at US$27.588 billion and have seen a stabilization of growth at 16.3 percent in 2007 after three years of growing more than 35 percent. The agricultural exports had an annual growth rate of 18.6 percent with coffee, asparagus, paprika, artichoke, mango, grapes, and onions featuring as major exportation items. Fishing is regulated by a law that promotes aquaculture development and grants income tax reductions and other benefits. As a result, Peruvian fisheries export to 104 countries. Mining activities have placed the country in the first place in Latin America in terms of production of gold, zinc, lead, chin, and tellurium; there are important mining companies operating in Peru, such as Barrick Gold Corp. (Canada), Newmont Gold (United States), Doe Run (United States), and Vale do Rio Doce (Brazil).

Peru's Proinversion is a special governmental agency that aims at promoting foreign direct investment. There are no restrictions or controls on payments, transactions, transfers, or repatriation of profits. The stock of foreign investment is US$15.373 billion (June 2007) and is provided by Spain (31.5 percent), United States (18.3 percent), and United Kingdom (17.4 percent). This stock is placed in communications (31.6 percent), mining (18.8 percent), industry (15 percent), finance (12.5 percent), and energy (10.7 percent), thus making sectors such as mining, textile, fibers, and infrastructure promising avenues for investment. According to world competitiveness scoreboards of 2008, Peru is in the 35th position. Moreover, 98.3 percent of the companies in Peru are small-sized enterprises that are family owned and most of them (77 percent) are in the services and commerce sectors. They account for 45 percent of the GDP and 88 percent of the employment generation. Nearly 3,500 of the country's small enterprises are involved in foreign trade and they are dynamic agents of the economy.

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