MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay announces economic measures to boost growth

Uruguay will focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, Oddone explained

Uruguay's Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has announced a new set of measures to “prioritize” and “streamline” investment to boost growth by making things easier for both national and foreign investors. “There is a political idea of what we want to do,” Minister Gabriel Oddone explained.

 “There are three areas of change that we have put on the table: specific microeconomic measures for the border, a program to reduce bureaucracy and simplify procedures to serve the private sector and make it easier for it to interact with the public sector, and now a program of incentives for investment, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, which was not previously contemplated, and with more power and ammunition to encourage significant investments,” he added.

Among the measures adopted, the National Free Trade Zone Authority will be renamed the National Investment Incentive Authority, with more power to coordinate investment policies.

The government of President Yamandú Orsi also plans to digitize administrative processes to reduce the backlog of over 4,000 unresolved investment projects.

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) will be a key focus of the new investment strategy.

Uruguay will also create tax incentives to attract skilled foreign professionals, particularly in the scientific and technology sectors, with “a clear emphasis on employment and productivity,” according to Oddone.

In addition, the MEF will now manage the subsidized housing program, focusing on projects that generate “quality products and employment,” while the Ministry of Housing will concentrate on providing accommodation for the most vulnerable.