Renewable energies and tourism are new Eldorados for Italian investors in Argentina

Renewable energies, with the enormous possibilities offered in Patagonia for wind and solar. And tourism, which has been booming since 2003. These are the two sectors where the most investment opportunities exist in Argentina. Just today, a meeting between Italian companies and 110 small and medium-sized Argentine companies began in Rome, which arrived in the wake of President Cristina Kirchner.
Enel, Finmeccanica, Tenaris, Generali, Abi, various Chambers of Commerce and Argentine companies are planning, between today and tomorrow, more than 550 business meetings at the Hotel Excelsior in Via Veneto in Rome. On the occasion of Kirchner's visit, invited by Giorgio Napolitano to attend the celebrations of 2 June, a workshop was organized to relaunch bilateral relations between Italy and Argentina.
On the one hand, it is a matter of diversifying the South American country's exports (1,3 billion dollars to our national market in 2010) by incorporating new Italian products with greater added value. The meetings will concern companies from various sectors: chemical, textile, agri-food, publishing, construction, iron and steel, tourism and energy. On the other hand, however, 43 specific projects of Italian companies to be developed in Argentina were presented, mainly in the renewable energy, tourism and audiovisual sectors. Projects which together are worth about 3 billion dollars and which would affect Argentine production and employment in the short term.
A source from the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs told FIRSTonline: "This year it is the renewable energy sector that is pulling the most". Argentina is a country rich in energy resources, but only a small part of it is clean. The territory of Patagonia offers great potential for the wind and solar sector, "we want to copy Europe, we are looking for companies that want to invest with us", said the source. The level of specialization of the Argentine workforce is very high "and Italian companies know it", he added.
Another leading sector is that of tourism. Vanesa Di Martino Creide, from the Promotion and Tourism Office of the Argentine Embassy, ​​underlined that "the ideal would be to develop Argentine human capital, which is highly qualified, with a boost from Italian companies". The entry of foreign tourists into the South American country grew by more than 70% from 2003 to 2010. If at first it was the devaluation of the peso that attracted travellers, the development of suitable structures and services associated with the sector have made it possible to maintain this advantage in the time.
But why prefer Argentina to other South American countries for an investment? Firstly, since 2003 the GDP has had an average growth rate of 8%. In 2010, the Argentine economy grew "only" by 7%, still three times as much as any European economy. Of course, the problem of inflation and its dubious statistical reporting does not play in its favor. But tax incentives and a favorable exchange rate greatly reduce investment and operating costs.
Not only economic relations are important between the two countries: 40% of Argentines have an Italian uncle or grandfather. The cultural affinity is enormous: food habits, language, music, "We are Italians who speak Castilian - added our source - just as one could say that Italians are Argentines who speak Italian."