MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Apple retailer iPlace lands in Montevideo thanks to better tax conditions than those in Argentina

“The country has a high social level and economic stability that provides greater security to the investor,” said iPlace's Ferrari.

Apple's largest retailer in South America, iPlace, which is present in 27 Brazilian states has landed this week in Uruguay. The company iPlace chose Montevideo to start its international expansion to be able to keep an eye on the Argentine market thanks to its geographical proximity, iPlace CEO Matheus Mundstock explained.

“We believe that Uruguay will be the beginning of our international expansion project to other countries,” said Mundstock. “We believe that the country has a high social level and economic stability that provides greater security to the investor.”

In addition to that, the Government of Uruguay made itself available to the company and for this reason, iPlace publicly thanked the support of the country's public entities. They will open a large store with technical assistance from Apple with technicians certified by the American company.

Regarding the type of Apple products to become available in Uruguay, iPlace announced that they will have “a complete mix of all devices” and Uruguayan consumers will be able to turn in their used iPhones to get a discount on the purchase of a new one. The retailers also announced a series of alliances with local financial entities and telephone operators to offer “exclusive conditions” to Uruguayan clients.

“Having an iPlace store in the country will ensure that Uruguayans receive the latest releases in a much shorter period of time compared to the current scenario,” the company said in a statement.

The economic situation in Argentina does not seem to benefit technology entrepreneurs and, consequently, many see Uruguay as an ideal destination to expand their business, which is also the result of the endeavours of the government's Uruguay XXI agency, which is dedicated, among other things, to promoting and attracting investments.

Uruguay XXI Investment Manager Alejandro Ferrari said last year there were “42% more inquiries, generating an interesting portfolio with more than 200 open opportunities” to do business. Ferrari highlighted the “great interest of Argentina”, from where inquiries were multiplied by four while the processes initiated for technology ventures grew three times.

Other areas interested in landing in Uruguay are distributors of pharmaceutical products, Ferrari said.

In June last year, the Uruguayan government advanced with new measures so that technology entrepreneurs in the region begin to see the country as a new business hub by creating more favourable tax conditions than those in force in Argentina for the same kind of developments. Since 2018 Uruguay has tried to seduce Argentine companies with tax facilities for the importation of parts for prototypes that are applied to innovation in electronics and robotics.