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 More than 300 companies have set up offshore operations in Honduras over the last several years. They include manufacturers of apparel and textiles, assemblers of automotive and electronic parts, and companies operating in the agroindustry and tourism sectors. On the list of apparel suppliers to the United States, Honduras ranks 1st in the Caribbean, 1st among Central American countries and 3rd in the world. Honduras is also the third largest supplier of harnesses, and second in tilapia and jalapeño peppers to the U.S. market.
Here are a few of the advantages available in Honduras that make it an excellent place to launch a new business:
- Political and social stability since 1980.
- Series of legal guarantees and fiscal incentives make investment highly favorable.
- Current legislation protects and promotes investment.
- Permanent tax holiday.
- Ample availability of highly productive labor at competitive wages.
- Excellent physical and communications infrastructure.
- Competitive property rental and sales rates
- Best and most efficient port facilities in Central America.
- Puerto Cortes and three other Honduran ports have been certified by the International Maritime Organization. The U.S. Coast Guard considers Honduras a model country in terms of port security. Under the CSI (Container Security Initiative) there is a U.S. Customs office as well as border protection.
- Puerto Cortes has been certified as a MEGAPORT. Within Latin America only Brazil and Argentina have such a certification.
- Proximity to the United States offering a speedy turnover rate and delivery time (48 hours by sea or 2 hours by air to southern U.S. cities).
- Inter-oceanic Highway Corridor linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts with a high quality road infrastructure.
- Availability of highly qualified bilingual personnel.
- Numerous personnel training programs.
- Wide variety of non-traditional species of wood-producing trees.
- Diverse climate and high fertile land with excellent potential for low-irrigation agriculture.
- 32 million hectares ideal for cultivation at highly competitive prices.
| Extremely Helpful |
 FIDE, Investment and Exports, a private non-profit organization in Honduras, is available to assist foreign companies seeking to develop investments in Honduras. Your One-Stop Office for investment:
• Prepares detailed itineraries tailored to the individual requirements, and coordinates visits to Honduras.
• Accompanies investors on site-visits to specific manufacturing facilities, free zones and sites for tourism development.
• Schedules meetings with government, banking and foreign officials.
• Contacts local suppliers, sub-contractors and joint venture partners.
• Arranges appointments with lawyers, consultants and related support-service entities.
• Provides industrial and sectorial profiles, current data on transportation facilities and schedules, wage rates, incentives and legislation, economic data, production cost figures and other statistical data.
• Identifies buildings and sites for rental or purchase.
• Provides follow-up assistance and full support for the establishment of successful operations in Honduras.
• Provides assistance with immigration procedures, housing, educational centers and various other accommodations.
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| Don’t Forget |
 Honduras is located approximately l,000 miles southwest of Miami, U.S.A.
• The country has a population of 7,200,000.
• The official language is Spanish, but english is widely used as second language.
• The currency is the Lempira.
• The Lempira devaluates between 1 and 1.5% annually.
• The Central Bank of Honduras regulates the banking system.
• Honduras is a participating member of the World Bank, IBDR, and CABEI.
• There are four Caribbean and one Pacific seaports.
• Puerto Cortes, located in the Caribbean coast, is Central America's largest and best equipped port. It provides 24-hour service, no waiting time, modern roll-on/roll-off and cold storage facilities.
• Container service is 10 times per week to Miami, 4 times per week to New Orleans, 4 times per week to New York through Miami, twice a week to Europe.
• Service from the Far East to Honduras and vice versa is 35 days to the U.S.A and transship (Caribbean) and 28 to 30 days to Panama and transship (Pacific).
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