VISION MISSION

Promote relations between the United States, through the medium of economic activity and free enterprise, and further the legitimate interests of its members, fostering social responsibility.

Creed

AmCham believes that economic development is essential for progress and well-being. The Chamber considers that the key is the individual effort and initiative of each member of society. The rule of law, respect for property and individual liberties must be guaranteed by all causes and the fundamental status to achieve a better standard of living in the country.

Mission Statement

Being a member of AmCham can provide a lot of benefits that will help your company grow locally and regionally.

Benefits of being a member:

• Guidance and assistance in accessing U.S. Visas for Members of your Staff who need to enter the U.S.

• We elaborate FDA and labeling registration process for exporting products.

• Organization of several committees with the intention of solving problems we face within the productive sectors.

• Looking to hire? Display available positions within your company by using our Job Search Program. It’s a database of available, qualified and skilled candidates looking for Employment opportunities.

• Publicity, use a number of different ways AmCham communicates with our members and social media followers to promote your products and services.

• Aditional to AmCham’s membership you obtain without cost the U.S. Chamber of Commerce membership.

Dear reader,

Welcome to the 20th edition of our annual magazine, Doing Business and Investing in Guatemala.

As President of the Board of Directors of this prestigious Chamber, it has been a distinct pleasure to serve our members, strategic allies and our country, in creating more economic growth and opportunities. We will certainly continue to do so for future years to come. It has been an honor to lead this institution in which, for 55 years, we have supported bilateral trade between the United States of America and Guatemala.

Through these pages, the main objective is to help companies and investors who are interested in business opportunities, to learn about Guatemala’s economy and to experience through AmCham Guatemala, what it would be like to invest in our country. The main purpose of this magazine is to be a tool to obtain information and key contacts for business development.

Guatemala is a diverse country, abundant in natural resources, hard-working people, beautiful landscapes and a resilient and growing economy, amongst other things. In addition, Guatemala provides many advantages and opportunities. The United States is our first trading partner, working together towards the same goal under the CAFTA-DR agreement.

AmCham Guatemala looks forward to being your best ally in Guatemala for any needs and requirements you may have regarding business with the United States. Providing contacts, meetings with potential business partners and government entities, commercial advice and networking events are some of the services we provide as the largest bilateral Chamber in the country. Our commitment will remain the same with you, we are here to be your concierge for business.

I would also like to thank each of the editors and writers of this publication and in particular, each one of you for the trust you have placed in our team at AmCham Guatemala. We hope this edition will be of use to you in learning more about the business and investment climate in our country.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, it will be a pleasure to assist you and welcome you to this amazing country.

Dear readers,

Warm greetings on behalf of AmCham Guatemala’s team and our best wishes for a successful 2023.

Another year starts and with all the lessons learnt form last year, we have already planned a series of events and services for our members and all the participants that would like to join us, returning to the face-to-face modality. These activities prepared are all focused on knowledge improvement and networking opportunities.

Knowing that Guatemala presents new challenges of various kinds over the years, we try to provide the best resources to our members and foreign investors so that their businesses can grow in our country. Guatemala is an optimal country for investment and business development, which can be seen in the following pages of this magazine.

Every year, we look forward to providing our members with the best tools for business growth and internationalization. Since we believe that economic development is essential for progress and well-being and that the key for the success is the individual effort, along with the involvement and initiative of each person in our society.

The respect of the rule of law, property and individual liberties, is fundamental to achieve a better and more sustainable standard of living. With that in mind, this year’s issue of the ‘’Doing Business and Investing in Guatemala” magazine has articles written by several experts to enlighten you about different topics that will provide a complete overview of the business growth in our country.

It is with great pleasure to welcome you to the 20th edition of our annual magazine and we hope it gives you a general perspective about Guatemala’s economy, productive sectors, bilateral relations with the United States and an overview of our everyday way of life.

We look forward to keeping an eye on the bilateral relationship between Guatemala and its first trading partner and most importantly, for you to let us be your best ally regarding your business.

Guatemala 360º

I. INDICADORES GENERALES

Official name Republic of Guatemala

Total population 17,357,886 (2022) (National Institute of Statistics) –(INE, acronym in Spanish)

Population Density 157 per km2 (World Bank)

Total area 108,889 Km2

Territorial division 22 departamentos

Official language Spanish

Type of government Presidential democratic republic

Currency Quetzal (Q)

Average Temperature 15°C - 25°C (59°F - 77°F)

Infant Mortality 22 deaths / 1000 births (2020) (World Bank)

Life expectancy 73.9 years (2022)

Fertility

2.7 babies born / woman (2022)

Source: CIA World Factbook

II. Government of the Republic of Guatemala

The Republic of Guatemala is a sovereign state that has adopted a presidential, democratic and representative Government system organized for the administration of 22 departments. The Constitution, adopted in 1985, recognizes the separation of executive, legislative and judicial branches. The Executive branch is represented by a President who is the head of State and Government, in charge of the executive duties for four years without the option for reelection. They are elected by majority of popular votes. The Legislative branch, represented by a bicameral body in Guatemala, is in charge of making laws that promote the integral development of the country. Congress is made up of 160 representatives elected through closed lists for a period of four years with the option of reelection. The Judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court of Justice, Court of Appeals, Courts of First Instance, Justices of Peace and specialized Courts such as the Constitutional Court. The Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice are elected by the Congress of the Republic for a period of five years, from a list of twenty-six candidates proposed by a nominating commission.

• III. Geography

• Location: Located at the northwesternmost extreme of Central America, it borders with Mexico to the west and north, with Belize and the Honduras Gulf to the east, with Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast and with the Pacific Ocean to the south. Due to its geographical location, it has become a strategic point with easy access to the large markets, since the country has ports on both coasts: On the Pacific (Puerto Quetzal, 98 km from Guatemala City) and on the Atlantic or Caribbean (Puerto Santo Tomás de Castilla and Puerto Barrios, 297 km from Guatemala City).

• Total area: 108,889 square kilometers.

• Cities: Its capital is

Guatemala City. Other major cities are Quetzaltenango and Escuintla.

• Climate: The lowlands have a tropical climate, hot and humid and in the highlands the climate is cold. The central plateau is temperate. In the coastal regions the climate is tropical, and the Atlantic coast is more humid than the Pacific. The rainy season is from May to November.

• Terrain: Two mountain ranges cross Guatemala from west to east, dividing the country into three main regions: The highlands where the mountains are located, the Pacific Coast south of the mountains and the Petén region, north of the mountains. All major cities are located in the highlands and the Pacific coast region.

• Administrative division: Guatemala is divided into 22 departments and subdivided into 344 municipalities.

• IV. Population

• Nationality: Guatemalan

• Population: 17,357,886 (2022). It is the most populated country in Central America.

• Language: Spanish is the official language and there are more than 23 non-official ethnic languages.

• Religion: Guatemala is a secular state but the Catholic religion predominates.

V. Economy

Official currency: Quetzal (GTQ)

Guatemala has the largest economy in Central America. According to the Bank of Guatemala, the annual GDP for 2021 was US$85.97 billion and the GDP Per Capita (Purchasing Power Parity, PPP) was US$4603.00, with a variation rate of 0.7%. Guatemala’s economy is mainly supported by the private sector which generates around 90% of the GDP.

As of September 2022, the total amount of Guatemala’s General Trade exports was US$12.1 billion, US$2 billion higher than the amount registered as of September 2021 (US$10.1 billion). The most important products according to their participation in the total value of exports were: Clothing items with US$1.4 billion (11.3%); coffee with US$1.053 billion (8.6%); edible fats and oils with US$903.4 million (6.1%); bananas with US$698.8 million (5.9%); and sugar with

US$623.5 million (4.5%).

The main export destinations according to their participation were: Central America with US$3.97 billion (32.9%); the US with US$3.8 billion (31.8%); Eurozone with US$1.2 billion (9.9%); Mexico with US$508.8 million (4.2%); and the People’s Republic of China with US$315.7 million (2.6%).

On the other hand, the total amount of imports was US$24.5 billion, US$5.6 billion higher than the amount registered as of September 2021 (US$18.9 billion).

Imports came mainly from the US with US$8.6 billion (35.3%); the People’s Republic of China with US$3.4 billion (13.7%); Central America with US$2.7 billion (11.1%); Mexico with US$2.6 billion (10.7%); and the Eurozone with US$1.6 billion (6.6%).

Therefore, Guatemala’s largest trading partner is the US, accounting for 35.3% of Guatemala’s imports and 31.8% of its exports. In addition, given Guatemala’s large migrant community in the US, it is the main sender of remittances to Central America, with inflows serving as the main source of foreign income equivalent to more than half of exports or 14.6% of GDP.

Guatemala is part of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTADR), an implementation that has increased the inflow of foreign direct investment and the diversification of exports, such as ethanol and non-traditional agricultural products. It also has free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Panama, the European Union and Israel. On the other hand, Guatemala has also ratified partial scope agreements with Belize, Ecuador, Cuba and Venezuela.

Gross Domestic Product by economic activity sector

• Agriculture: 10%

• Mining and quarrying: 0.8%

• Manufacturing industries: 14.3%

• Electricty and water supply: 2.9%

• Construction: 4.3%

• Vehicle commerce and repair: 17.8%

• Transportation and storage: 2.5%

• Hospitality and food service activities: 2.6%

• Information and communication: 4.9%

• Financial and insurance activities: 4.1%

• Real state activities: 9.4%

• Professional, scientific and technical activities: 2.5%

• Administrative services activities: 3.4%

• Teaching: 3.7%

• Human health care activities: 2.5%

• Other service activities: 3.8%

Agriculture and livestock: Bananas, plantains, coffee, sugar cane, beans, cardamom, vegetables, livestock, sheep, pigs, chickens, among others.

Industry: Sugar, textiles and items of clothing, furniture, chemical products, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism, among others.

Services: Sustainable tourism, health and well-being tourism, software and call centers, laboratories, creative industry, among others.

During the last decades, Guatemala has had the least volatile growth when compared to its neighboring countries. Public debt and the budget deficit have been historically among the lowest and the most stable in the world, which has granted it certain resilience to external shocks.

As an example of this, despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted three decades of economic growth in the country, Guatemala experienced one of the lowest GDP contractions in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020, at -1.5%. It rose in 2021 with 8% GDP growth. Likewise, economic activity recovered to pre-pandemic levels during the first quarter of 2021, largely thanks to record remittance inflows.

With significant asset characteristics and a young multi-ethnic population, Guatemala has a colossal potential to promote growth and success for its people. Nonetheless, Guatemala’s stability has not been present in an accelerated growth to close the salary gap. Poverty and disparity in the nation are high and the high hindering rates for children weaken Guatemala’s capacity to reach its improvement potential.

Income distribution continues being unequal, since the wealth of 1% of the population is equal to or greater than that of the remaining 99%. 59.3% of the

VI. Indicators

population lives in poverty and 23% of the population lives in extreme poverty. Poverty among indigenous groups, which represent more than 40% of the population, averages 76% and 27% extreme poverty. Nearly half of Guatemala’s children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition, one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world.