Background
Guatemala
was freed of Spanish colonial rule in 1821. During the second half of
the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian
governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government
signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had led to
the death of more than 100,000 people and had created some 1 million
refugees.
The
agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-thirds of
exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are
the main products. Former President ARZU (1996-2000) worked to
implement a program of economic liberalization and political
modernization. The 1996 signing of the peace accords, which ended 36
years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. In
1998, Hurricane Mitch caused relatively little damage to Guatemala
compared to its neighbors. Ongoing challenges include increasing
government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international
donors, and increasing the efficiency and openness of both government
and private financial operations. Despite low international prices for
Guatemala's main commodities, the economy grew by 3% in 2000 and 2.3%
in 2001. Guatemala, along with Honduras and El Salvador, recently
concluded a free trade agreement with Mexico and has moved to protect
international property rights. However, the PORTILLO administration has
undertaken a review of privatizations under the previous
administration, thereby creating some uncertainty among investors
Holidays
Jan 1 - New Year's Day
Mar 24-27* - Holy Week
May 1 - Labour Day
Jun 30 - Army Day
Aug 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary(Guatemala City only)
Sep 15 - Independence Day
Oct 20 - Revolution Day
Nov 1 - All Saints' Day
Dec 24 - Christmas Eve (afternoon only)
Dec 25 - Christmas Day
Dec 31 - New Year's Eve (afternoon only)
Ps: This festival's date (*) given above is approximation which is subject to change every new year.
Phone Codes
Country Code: 502
Outgoing International Code: 00
Resources
Market Research
CIA - The World Factbook - Guatemala
This website indicates a wide range of detail information about
Guatemala by introducing under 8 different fields as its geography,
people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military,
transnational issues.
Governments on the WWW: Guatemala
Links to websites of governmental institutions and political parties in Guatemala
Guatemala's Business Profile
It is available to find out Guatemala's economy, commercial
information, business via assisting easy access to its business
environments.
Guatemala - Business Opportunities Center
There is a business directory relied on the information on economics, government, laws and demographics of Guatemala
Guatemala's Business and Economy
There is likely to find a full listing of business resources, opportunities and contacts in Guatemala.
Business Services in Guatemala
This website provides opportunities to search and/or advertise any
business services, businesses, websites, and classifieds for targeted
visitors/investors in Guatemala. Business opportunities, financial
services, investment opportunities are the other subtitles available in
this webpage.
OPIC Links: Investor's Information Gateway- Guatemala
There is available country database information links which are
efficient for the new investors planned to do business in Guatemala
including the contact lists of the institutions, organization related
to Guatemala business.
| 
