Headlines of the past few years are hard to ignore. After a decade of substantial growth and foreign investment, the Argentine economy caved in late 2001, prompting the biggest foreign debt default in history — more than US$100 billion. (Yes, billion, with a "b")

But things are definitely looking up. Growth has been blistering and a free-floating peso has made assets comparatively cheap. Argentines themselves are highly trained professionals, and they are hungry to get back to work.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start off with some trade shows

Find potential partners by attending trade fairs in-country.

I recommend: A calendar of Argentine trade fairs is at Ferias & Congresos, an event promoters' site. Expotrade, too, keeps up with shows and events, as does the Exportar Foundation.

Find a local partner

A first step toward doing business might be to find a domestic reseller of your goods or service, or perhaps a franchisee of your brand.

I recommend: Amcham Argentina, the American Chamber of Commerce in Argentina, publishes a monthly list of trade leads online. Business News Americas maintains a pay database directory of companies in Latin America searchable by geography and sector.

Sell to government

Your biggest customer by far in much of the developing world is the public purse. Getting involved in selling to Argentina's government is as easy as going online.

I recommend: Get started at the Argentine official purchasing site, ArgentinaCompra.

Get involved with those who matter

It's very common in Latin America for nearly every industry to have its own trade group. Know these folks, and you'll be in the loop on everything that might affect your investment.

I recommend: The Argentine government maintains a (Spanish-language) page of sector chambers, from construction and cosmetics down to peanuts and air-conditioning. The U.S. government also runs commercial offices worldwide. Business News Americas maintains a pay database directory of companies in Latin America searchable by geography and sector.

Do your homework

Argentine foreign investment law is a moving target, to say the least. Understanding where you stand is vital.

I recommend: Learn how to form a corporation, hire and fire and pay taxes from the government's English-language versions of investment and legal guides at the Argentine Investment Promotion Agency, ADI. The World Bank publishes basic economic data and factlets like time to start a business and labor cost indexes.

Understand the numbers

The Argentine economy has been a rollercoaster ride in recent years. Getting a grip on how wide those swings might be can convince you of the opportunity -- or convince you to pass it up.

I recommend: The Centro de Economía Internacional posts economic briefings that are as detailed and updated as you are likely to find. Data vendor Latin Focus keeps an updated page of news in English and Spanish.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  A few sectors right now are hot, generally because the weak Argentine peso means foreign currency carries more weight. These include tourism development, call centers, movie- and commercial-making and real estate.
• •  Argentines have had a rough past few years. Poverty leapt dramatically following the economic collapse, and people suffered. Grow a thick skin, too: Some Argentines blame foreign investors for the problems, and this can come up in conversation.
• •  Get ready to dress the part. A rolled-up shirt and loose tie in the United States says, 'working hard.' The same in Buenos Aires says 'hardly working.'