Is Ecuador ready for an influx of foreign investment?

Regardless of the fact that Ecuador’s economy is the eighth largest in Latin America and the Caribbean (among 33 countries), Ecuador has amazing potential of business activities in the mining, energy, tourism and agriculture industries. With large natural mineral reserves (in gold, cooper and iron), amazing conditions for the development of energy projects, especially photovoltaic and hydroelectric energy, incredible tourism locations such as the Galapagos Islands, beautiful highlands, and considered to be one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, Ecuador is also one of the top exporters worldwide of bananas, shrimp, flowers and cacao.

Due to all these interesting factors and many others like a dollarized economy, the government’s current policy has been focused in promoting attractive conditions for foreign investors and working on improving the benefits that were already granted in the Organic Code of Production, Commerce and Investment (COPCI) published in December 2010, but had little or none effect during the previous government (aligned to Hugo Chavez ideology).