OPORTUNIDADES Y NEGOCIOS CHILE - SUIZA

FOREWORD
Gonzalo Rojas
President of the Swiss-Chilean Chamber of Commerce
Board CCHSC: Pablo Devoto, Alain Champion, Carlos Haddad, Veronika Fischer, Miguel Campos, Gonzalo Rojas, Max Spiess,
Marcelo Schumacker (not in the picture).
The Swiss-Chilean Chamber of Commerce is
celebrating 60 years of history. It has been a long
journey in which many Swiss companies some
present for decades and entrepreneurs with ties
to both countries have given their best to create
high-quality products and services and close to
21,000 jobs, participating in this way in the
development of Chile and of bilateral trade. At the
same time they have helped to build a solid image
of Swissness, as well as the extensive network of
collaboration and mutual benefit which the
Chamber of Commerce is today. This has been a
joint effort together with the Swiss Embassy in
Chile, the Chilean Embassy in Switzerland and
different governmental organizations including
Swiss Global Enterprise.
During these 60 years, the world has experienced
radical changes; world history has gone through
peaks and crises and has lived through moments of
impact which have also affected this far away
country.
Indeed, over the past decades, Chile has gone
through profound economic, social and political
changes, positioning itself as an attractive country
for investment and as a dependable and respected
commercial partner. Today Chile is acknowledged
for its continuous growth, as one of the most stable
countries in Latin America with a GDP per capita of
nearly USD 24,000 (FMI 2014 PPP-Purchasing
Power Parity), integrated into the world by free
trade agreements with 61 countries, including
Switzerland. The above is complemented with its
political stability, its macroeconomic indices,
modern financial institutions, an autonomous
central bank as well as serious and efficient
regulatory institutions.
Meanwhile, Switzerland is leading the development
of new technologies and is acknowledged as being
one of the most innovative countries in the world.
For this reason, many Swiss companies have arrived
and continue arriving in Chile to offer their latest
technology, contributing their experience with
solutions in productivity, improvement in
processing, eco-efficiency and a long-term vision in
its business and investment. There is still great
potential for the future, as we have been able to
see through various local business groups.
Chile has developed an export model and
simultaneously has opened to international
investment. Although mining is a very important
sector (12% of the GDP), the diversification of the
economy with dynamic categories should also be
noted: construction, industry, forestry, agro-industry
(including its well catalogued wine and fruit),
transport, energy, financial services,
telecommunications, health and education. The
internal demand is strong and is constantly
expanding and many local companies now have
branches in Latin America offering their services
and know-how which also open new commercial
opportunities to foreign companies wishing to
expand in the region.
The role of the Swiss-Chilean Chamber of Commerce
is to support its members in the development of
their business, both in Chile (and neighbouring
countries) and in Switzerland. Its work consists of
coordinating an exclusive and reliable network,
providing its members with serious and trustworthy
information about the Chilean market and helping
them to establish links with the local milieu and to
meet each other by means of networking activities.
The Chamber of Commerce also organizes the Swiss
pavilions in trade fairs and develops meeting and
information points such as seminars and congresses.
On their arrival in Chile, any Swiss company can be
quickly incorporated into the local environment,
creating business links with greater facility and their
executives can establish close business relationships
and mutual support amongst their peers.
This Yearbook aims to be a source of up-to-date
information about Chile and the opportunities
being offered today in the market, about the Swiss
and Chilean-Swiss companies present in Chile who
are potential commercial allies for those
prospecting the local market. It is also at the service
of international bodies and of people who wish to
learn about the presence of Swiss companies in the
Chilean market.
Finally, this Yearbook has also been devised as an
acknowledgement and enormous gratitude to all
the people and organizations who have contributed
to the success of this Chamber of Commerce
throughout its history. We sincerely hope that it will
be useful for orientation and motivation and to
develop commercial relations between Chile and
Switzerland even further.
In the name of the Board of Directors and the
Management of the Chamber of Commerce we
send you our most cordial greetings.
06 CÁMARA CHILENO-SUIZA DE COMERCIO
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