Doing Business in Chile | How-to Guides for running your business from Business.com

Chileans will ask foreign visitors, very seriously, why they have come to this narrow, string-bean of a country at the end of the Americas. Argentina is more cosmopolitan, they say, Brazil more sexy, Mexico is closer.

Truth be told, plenty of big and small companies are hopping on southbound planes to the capital, Santiago. Could be a decade and a half of 7% annual growth through the 1990s (it has since slowed), extremely low tariffs on foreign imports and the billions in foreign investment that has turned the city into a glass-walled miniature of financial Manhattan.

Building a business in Chile means serving a small market at just 16 million people, but it's a great, stable spot from which so service South America and it has become an exporting powerhouse on copper, salmon, wine and fruit.

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

Start with the basics

Unlike many countries its size in the region, the Chilean economy is very nearly transparent and relatively easy to follow. Statistics and capital markets data are released in a timely fashion, and there is little sense of any nasty surprises underlying all the growth of late.

I recommend: Get the basic numbers from the Economist magazine's country page on Chile. Latin Focus tracks news and vital economic stats. The World Bank's Doing Business site rates countries on ease of regulations, labor supply and tax policy.

Work with the agencies that want foreign money

Chile got one thing absolutely right. Years ago, it set investment rules in stone by making foreign direct investment subject to laws built into the country's Constitution. Political meddling is virtual non-existent and the top-notch banking system is well-regulated and liquid.

I recommend: Learn the ropes of foreign investment rules via the Chile Foreign Investment Committee, a government agency. Chile has a large and seriously run American Chamber of Commerce. If you want to export from Chile, the foreign ministry's export-promotion arm ProChile is a great starting place.

Consider a show or trade fair

It can be daunting to invest in a new place without really knowing how your particular industry might be accepted. Starting off with some trade shows in-country might help.

I recommend: Track trade fairs in Chile through BizTradeShows, EventsEye or the U.S. Commercial Service at BuyUSA.gov.

Sell to government

Many developing countries have a limited number of large institutional buyers of import products. Selling to government is a must for any serious business plan in Chile.

I recommend: The Chilean government buys through an online auction system called ChileCompra. Although state-run, huge national copper producer Codelco (Chilean companies public and private control 30% of world reserves) buys separately.

Follow the important news

Before investing in any new country, it's worthwhile to become a regular reader of the local press.

I recommend: El Diario is the tabloid financial daily. El Mercurio is the major daily. English-language paper The Santiago Times leans a bit toward social issues, but reliably translates major stories from the local press. The most serious magazine is Qué Pasa. Business News Americas tracks key industrial sectors across the region.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Chilean Spanish is quite unusual and slangy, but they'll appreciate any effort you make to communicate in their language. No worries, most business people have a good command of English and many speak also German, French and even Italian.
Beware the Austral summer. Plan no business meetings from February 1 till almost mid-March. Like Europeans, Chileans tacitly take the month off and the city nearly shuts down.
For decades, Chileans will tell you, when they told foreigners they were from Chile, the response was invariably, "Oh, Pinochet" and then stone silence. The general is dead and gone, and Argentina had a far worse dirty war. Better to start a conversation about Merlot, the Andes or skiing. Chileans are not afraid of their checkered recent history, but they sure are tired of it.

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