Category Archives: Blog

BLP advises Empresas AquaChile on the sale of Grupo ACI in Costa Rica

BLP has advised Chilean company Agrosuper and its subsidiary Empresas Aquachile S.A., the world’s second-largest salmon farmer, on the sale of Grupo ACI S.A., a leading Costa Rican company in the tilapia aquaculture industry, to Industrias Martec (one of the largest marine fish processing and mariculture companies of Central America). The sale of Grupo ACI…

Procedural Guidelines for Free Zone Companies in the Logistics Services (SEL) category

General scope resolution RES-DGA-079-2022 specifies the “Guidelines for procedures related to the transit, internment, mobilization, and exit of merchandise carried out by Free Zone Companies for the Logistics Services category.” These guidelines regulate the customs procedures that Free Zone Companies must follow within the Logistics Services category (SEL) for their operations of entry, exit, handling,…

COPROCOM announces that the thresholds for reporting economic concentrations will be maintained for 2022

The Competition Comission (COPROCOM) in Costa Rica announced yesterday that the thresholds for filing economic concentrations will be maintained for 2022. Therefore, according to the Law on Strengthening the Competition Authorities of Costa Rica (Law No. 9736) it is mandatory to notify and obtain the approval from COPROCOM for those concentrations that comply with the…

Nearshoring as a Tool for Economic Reactivation

By Shermine Elizondo Senior Associate Costa Rica [email protected] The term Nearshoring refers to the mechanism or process through which a company transfers its business processes (e.g., services, manufacturing) or technology to third countries located in destinations close to the contracting country. This is opposed to the concept of Offshoring, which consists of relocating part of…

Law of Temporary Relief for Maritime Transport Costs for National Imports, to Mitigate the Container Crisis

Through Law No. 10162, a temporary adjustment to the tax base of goods imported by sea for customs purposes is approved to mitigate the container crisis. Therefore, a table of freight values is established, depending on the country or region of origin of the merchandise, which can be declared on import DUAS to determine the…

April 11 holiday – Juan Santamaría Day

On Monday, April 11, Costa Rica will celebrate 166 years since the hero Juan Santamarìa burned the so-called Mesón de Guerra rallying the country to defeat the filibuster forces at the Battle of Rivas, a fete of such importance that the day is celebrated as a mandatory payment holiday. Any company that uses a weekly…

Free Zones as a key tool for development outside the GAM

By Shermine Elizondo Senior Associate Costa Rica [email protected] Member of the Operations and Customs Affairs Work Commission of AZOFRAS A BLP associate specializing in Customs and Free Zones. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is understood as capital investment by a natural or legal person in a foreign country, either through the installation of new production plants…

BLP advises ASSA Compañía de Seguros, S.A. in the acquisition of the insurance operations of Triple – S in Costa Rica

BLP has advised ASSA Compañía de Seguros, S.A. in the acquisition of the insurance operations of Triple – S in Costa Rica. The firm’s advice involved all aspects of the transaction, including the due diligence process, regulatory and competition issues for the approval of the transaction by the General Superintendency of Insurance (SUGESE) and the…

BLP advises on the first issuance of a Social Bond in Costa Rica aimed to support the country’s SMEs and BN Mujer Program

IDB Invest, FinDev Canada, and BNCR support SMEs in Costa Rica with the country’s first issuance of a Social Bond. BLP has advised our clients, IDB Invest as lead arranger and investor, and FinDev Canada as an investor in connection with the first issuance of a social bond in Costa Rica in accordance with the…

The End of LIBOR: An Overview of the Legal Implications for the Financial Market of El Salvador

By Jose Gochez AssociateEl Salvador [email protected] The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) has been described as the most important financial number. LIBOR is an essential component for the international financial markets, a statement proven by its widespread use worldwide. By the beginning of 2021, it was estimated that LIBOR underpinned financial contracts worth approximately US$…