Uruguay has something for everyone... Hundreds of kilometers of beautiful beaches, sophisticated cities, and culture. The quality of life is excellent, with European ambience, Latino warmth, and third-world prices.

Delicious cuisine

Uruguay is a far cry from beans and rice. When dining out, superior quality steak, seafood, handmade sorrentinos, raviolis, and gnocchis are the fare. The supermarkets and specialty food stores are almost as good as you would find in New York or Paris. Like its neighbors Argentina and Chile, Uruguay is a superior producer of fine wines that are not to be missed.

Modern infrastructure

The highways on the coast and cities are First-World. There are no power outages. Everything works and is on time.

Fantastic climate

The summer December to February so many North Americans and Europeans have holidays homes in Uruguay where they escape to when it's winter back home. Uruguay's winters are cool, but there are lots of sunny days and it never snows.

Good standard of living

Uruguay has the highest standard of living and life expectancy in Latin America.

High level of safety

Lowest crime rate and level of corruption in Latin America, and one of the lowest in the world.

Political and economic stability

Uruguay has been granted the qualification of "investment grade" as dispersed by recognized companies, such as the American Duff & Phelps and British IBCA. This demarcation indicates that Uruguay is considered a country free of risk for investment. It ranks as one of the top three countries in Latin America for its ability to pay its external debt. Since the 70s, the successive governments in Uruguay have applied open politics along with liberalization of the financial systems.

Favorable laws for foreign investment & superb business environment

Highlights of these laws include:

- Equal treatment is extended to foreign and local investors.

- No special requirements for new companies.

- No restrictions on the amount of foreign capital that can participate in an investment.

- Free entrance and repatriation of capital and dividends is allowed.

- Favorable tax treatment on imports of capital equipment.

- Freedom of prices and no exchange restrictions.

- Freedom of choice regarding nationality when hiring labor.

- Possibility of total anonymity for investors.

- An open trade policy, and an expanding market through the consolidation of the Mercosur trade agreement.

- A solid and independent judicial system.

- Legal protection for private property and copyright.

- The existence of instruments to channel off-shore investments virtually tax-free.

- Availability of political-risk insurance.

- Promotional investment regimes in tourism, forestry, industrial promotion, and free trade zones.

Offshore banking and confidentiality

There are 22 private banks and 13 financial institutions. Of the 22 private banks, 20 are branches of foreign entities. The free entry and exit of money, and bank secrecy have seen Uruguay develop into the financial center of the Mercosur.