Mexico Launches Business Center to Attract and Promote Foreign Investment

Even though Mexico's economy is heavily export-based (higher than many other developed countries) – and foreign direct investments plays a relevant role – investing in Mexico is still a heavily regulated and bureaucratic process. In comparison to other destinations, investing in Mexico requires the involvement of many Mexican authorities with whom investors and their representatives need to deal directly to obtain authorizations, permits and access to import/export programs, among other requirements. This process may increase the costs of an investment, and sometimes become a disincentive (sometimes even an obstacle) to investors if not identified or addressed properly.

With the March 22, 2022, announcement of the "Invest in Mexico" Business Center, the Ministry of Economy may facilitate the work of establishing investment in Mexico, by helping investors with reaching out to various Mexican authorities (either local or federal) involved in the process of establishing investment projects in the country, as well as assisting in reaching out to other companies and service providers involved in any production chain.

Such qualified information, guidance and assistance will be managed by the Ministry of Economy's Global Economic Intelligence Unit. In addition, the agency may be a contact point to facilitate issues related with bureaucratic procedures such as immigration, establishment of companies, real state acquisition, trademarks and inventions registration, social security, construction and the general legal framework of foreign investment.

"Invest in Mexico" Business Center Capabilities

Although it is newly created, and its services are not clearly identified, the "Invest in Mexico" Business Center lists the following assistance capabilities: 1) information on regional economic opportunities, sectoral productive capacities and data to support the investment decisions; 2) connect companies and suppliers of the productive chain in Mexico; 3) guidance on the national procedures listed on the Invest in Mexico website; 4) information about the use of the mechanism to facilitate foreign investment in Mexico through the CNIE (National Commission of Foreign Investment); and 5) attention to concerns about the digital platforms for economic promotion at the Secretariat of Economy: ComerciaMx, ExportaMx, DataMéxico and Invest in Mexico.

The "Invest in Mexico" Business Center may also serve as a contact point to the Secretaries of Economic Development of the local governments.

To receive the services of the business center, all investors should be in a "pre-investment stage," and should fill out a registration form, with a letter of recommendation provided by one of the following institutions:

1. Mexican representations abroad
2. Accredited diplomatic representations in Mexico
3. Investment promotion agencies from other countries
4. National business chambers or organizations, and/or
5. Binational chambers

The business center is located within "Torre Ejecutiva" facilities of the Ministry of Economy in Mexico City, where meetings with their representatives would take place. A fact sheet is available for more information.

How We Can Help

Holland & Knight's International Trade Group has launched a nearshoring initiative and has helped various foreign companies establish its operations in Mexico. If you need more information about Holland & Knight's services, please contact our Mexico City office or a member of our Mexico International Trade Team.

Information contained in this alert is for the general education and knowledge of our readers. It is not designed to be, and should not be used as, the sole source of information when analyzing and resolving a legal problem, and it should not be substituted for legal advice, which relies on a specific factual analysis. Moreover, the laws of each jurisdiction are different and are constantly changing. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, we urge you to consult the authors of this publication, your Holland & Knight representative or other competent legal counsel.