Spotlight on: Peru

PERU The mountainous country of Peru shares a much-crossed border with 2016 Olympic hosts Brazil, and will surely benefit from an influx of tourists to the region this August looking to explore beyond Brazil and into Peru’s verdant Amazon rainforest, the ancient and altitudinous Incan city of Machu Picchu, Spanish colonial architecture in the bustling Incan capital of Cusco, and the possibility of adventurous pursuits such as hiking the world-famous Inca Trail, sandboarding, hang-gliding and rafting. Peru has developed a fashionable image with foreign consumers through the popularity of backpacking tourism, delicious Andean cuisine, and our writer’s favourite cocktail, the Pisco Sour; it is also a fantastic option for businesses looking to expand in the region, boasting the most consistent and fastest- rising economic growth in the LATAM region over the past 10 years.

Alongside the aforementioned strong economic growth, clever macroeconomic policies and a status as the 2nd safest country in the LATAM region for conducting business has afforded Peru accolades from global financial experts as one of the best emerging markets for foreign investment; Peru tops Grant Thornton’s list of the best prospects among emerging markets and Bloomberg ranks it fourth among ‘best emerging countries for investment’. The Peruvian economy is chiefly supported by mining and a number of large-scale projects are due to start over the next 5 years bringing employment and foreign investment opportunities. Additionally, private and public investment in infrastructure projects have contributed strongly to GDP and in turn will boost aggregate demand. With abundant natural resources and energy sources Peru is in an extremely strong position in the LATAM region, cited by the International Monetary Fund to overtake Chile in terms of the size of its economy by 2018; now is the time for external organizations to position themselves locally to take advantage of this upwards trend of growth while policy and conditions work in their favour.