CHILE UPDATES #13
This Trend is Going Parabolic in Chile
This Trend is Going Parabolic in Chile
Date: Sept 17, 2013
There are a lot of emerging industries in Chile where the rate of growth is absolutely staggering right now.
Tech start-ups, agritourism, manufacturing, international cuisine, and organic foods are all industries that barely existed here just 5 years ago but are now becoming much more important for the local economy.
Of all the things I see just getting off the ground here though, the one that I find the most interesting is the growth in the number of foreigners coming to Chile for business.
From 2005 and 2012, the number of foreigners that came to Chile for business nearly doubled, going from 350,000 in 2005 to 650,000 in 2012 (source: Sernatur Chile, graph: darrenkaiser.com).
Tech start-ups, agritourism, manufacturing, international cuisine, and organic foods are all industries that barely existed here just 5 years ago but are now becoming much more important for the local economy.
Of all the things I see just getting off the ground here though, the one that I find the most interesting is the growth in the number of foreigners coming to Chile for business.
From 2005 and 2012, the number of foreigners that came to Chile for business nearly doubled, going from 350,000 in 2005 to 650,000 in 2012 (source: Sernatur Chile, graph: darrenkaiser.com).
But this year Chile attracted 650,000 foreigners for business purposes in the first 6 months of the year alone. Even if the second half of the year turns out to be much slower than the first, this chart is going to end up looking more like this by Jan of 2014.
This uptick in attention from the international business community, this parabolic growth, is exactly what I was predicting for Chile in 2013 and brings us much closer to something which I’ve known was in store for the country for years, one that will have serious implications for the local economy.
Real International Recognition.
Earlier this year, Jim Rickards paid us a visit down here and spoke about an interesting phenomenon called critical mass. The idea is that when less than say 1% of people are doing something, it can easily be ignored by the other 99% of the population. But as the percentage grows, more people start to take notice. 2% becomes 5%, then 5% becomes 10%. Once a critical mass is achieved, there’s no stopping the trend that’s in place.
Today, Chile still isn’t on your mainstream investor’s radar, but that may not be the case for much longer. Word is starting to get out and things are going to start moving faster and faster.
As this happens, I'd expect two anomolies present in Chile today to disappear very quickly; the existence of cheap office space and the relaxed immigration requirements.
It looks like 2013 very well may be the turning point.
How much exposure do you have to Chile?
Real International Recognition.
Earlier this year, Jim Rickards paid us a visit down here and spoke about an interesting phenomenon called critical mass. The idea is that when less than say 1% of people are doing something, it can easily be ignored by the other 99% of the population. But as the percentage grows, more people start to take notice. 2% becomes 5%, then 5% becomes 10%. Once a critical mass is achieved, there’s no stopping the trend that’s in place.
Today, Chile still isn’t on your mainstream investor’s radar, but that may not be the case for much longer. Word is starting to get out and things are going to start moving faster and faster.
As this happens, I'd expect two anomolies present in Chile today to disappear very quickly; the existence of cheap office space and the relaxed immigration requirements.
It looks like 2013 very well may be the turning point.
How much exposure do you have to Chile?