In Mexico , the state of Tabasco has entered “full of energy” in the international competition for industrial investment attraction.

    NAFTA has opened a huge number of business opportunities thanks to the state’s privileged geographic position in the Gulf of Mexico , bordering the Central American markets and to the abundance of natural resources. Tabasco possesses nationwide relevance on comparative advantages such as oil, natural gas and water, of vital importance for its exploitation and the national development.

    Tabasco ’s geographical location enables its integration into the business network with North America , and also allows it to position as the NAFTA platform for Central American emerging markets.

    Tabasco is called the Energy State because of the importance it has acquired through its oil and oil-byproducts richness, as well as through its electric power generation.

    Tabasco is currently positioned as one of the most attractive states for industrial investment among the Southeastern Mexican states because of  its participation in two priority programs of the Mexican federal government: Marcha Hacia El Sur and the Puebla Panama Program, which arose from the concern for reducing economic development contrasts between Northern and Southern Mexico, encouraging the economic and social growth of the nation.

    Tabasco has undergone a significant economic change derived from the arrival of new investments, which have, in turn, generated an important number of jobs. These investments have reported a major increase that reflects the investors’ confidence in developing investment projects within the state.

    Two decades ago, the state’s industrialization was oriented towards the oil industry, mainly because of the presence in Tabasco of two of Pemex´s ( Mexico ’s state owned oil company) branches. Since the 1970s and 1980s, companies have established in Tabasco to provide the services and materials required by the oil industry. Nowadays, the state is exporting considerable volumes of manufactured and agricultural products. Thus, Tabasco is oriented today towards a modern economic system that considers the distribution and export of products with value added.

    Tabasco handles its natural resources with modernity and according to its cultural traditions, The state represents 1.3 percent of Mexico ’s territory, but it contains 30 percent of the nation’s total hydrological resources. Tabasco has the biggest hydrological basin of Mexico : the basin of the rivers Grijalva and Usumacinta .

    The many internal lagoons and estuaries, together with favorable hydrological conditions, open many investment opportunities related to the establishment of oyster and shrimp farms, among other tropical fishery species.

Highlights

    •Gateway from NAFTA  to Central America and the Caribbean markets.

    •Strategic location in the Gulf of Mexico basin.

    •Located within the energy generation zone of the country: water, oil and natural gas.

    •16.3 percent of the national crude oil production; 27.7 percent of the natural gas production.

    •30 percent of the national hydrological resources.

    •State road system: 5,319 miles (ranked 8th national place).

    •Railroads.

    •Solid initiatives for attracting investment.

    •65 percent of the population is under 30 years old.

    •22 universities.

    •88 upward mobility centers.

    •Seven technological universities.

    •43,300 college students.

    •34 percent of the state population are students.

State capital

    Villahermosa , the capital city of the state, provides all the facilities and conditions for a modern life style. Currently, Villahermosa City is distinguished from the other southeastern capital cities because of its regional influence, based on its transport and telecommunications infrastructure. These communication facilities ensure the link between production and distribution lines and also favor the access to consumption centers located in the center and south of Mexico .

    The consolidation of Villahermosa as a service and commerce center for Southern Mexico is already a fact, within the context of its regional influence zone. The city is also playing a key role in the integration of the potential Central American markets with the South, Center and the North of Mexico.

    Tabasco has modern living conditions for its people and communication links with other cities; hospitals, hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, entertainments and convenient facilities of international quality make it one of the most promising States in terms of economic development in Southeastern Mexico .

    Villahermosa highlights include:

    •State capital.

    •Regional center of specialized services in southern Mexico .

    •Two of the PEMEX most important branches: (gas exploration and basic petrochemical).

    •Industrial parks.

    •International airport.

Business environment

   Tabasco offers a favorable business climate and economic stability. Reliable conditions for investment are promoted through the following legislation and incentive programs:

    •Investments Attraction Agency: A private non-profitable organization whose primary purpose is to help investors with the legal and day-by-day procedures of establishing new enterprises. It also helps entrepreneurs to find the best location for their industrial units, assisting them during the whole process of establishment of their investment projects.

    • Tabasco Trade Office Miami .

    •Clusters Program: Tabasco en Acción.

    •Economic Development Law. It offers incentives and support to investors, including many initiatives and assistance procedures to ensure the success of present and future investments.

  •Exports support: Pymexporta Center .

  •Immediate opening for more than 600 business activities.

  •The Economic Deregulation Program, which reduces the paperwork and time for establishing new enterprises.

    The following are the productive sectors with the brightest future; they are related to Tabasco ’s main resources, like its water, its fertile lands, and the most valuable resource of all: its people.

    •Manufacturing

    •Electronics

    •Textiles

    •Information Technology

    •Water-intensive industries

    •Agribusiness (organics, tropical, cattle raising, dairies); due to its large production volumes and its rich lands, Tabasco greatly enables the settlement of processing plants for agricultural manufactured goods.

    •Forestry. Tabasco ’s weather conditions are ideal for the production of tropical woods, especially for precious woods and cellulose processing.

  •Aquaculture. The constant and warm temperatures of the state throughout   the year make it the perfect place for the production of shrimp, oyster, crab and tilapia, among other fishery products.

  •The tourism sector offers great possibilities, and given Tabasco ’s natural characteristics, it is suitable for adventure or eco-tourism activities.

  Because of the presence in Tabasco of Pemex Exploration and Production Division, and Pemex Gas and Basic Petrochemical Division, there are many opportunities in the oil industry, such as:

  •Petrochemical industry

  •Maintenance services for heavy industry

  •Telecommunications via satellite and fibre optic

  •Software engineering services

    •Recycling services

State government incentives

    •Executive assistance throughout the investment process.

    •Availability of land and real estate from the state government; transferred by purchase-sale, lease, contracts or any other legal process.

    •State taxes exemption: Public Property Registry and 1 percent Payroll Tax (for up to 10 years).

    •Upward mobility program scholarships through a government program.

    •Fast track opening services for low ecological impact businesses.

    •Investor support program (documents and permissions to install a business).

    •Investor support program in public services.

    The Mexican government, through its program Marcha Hacia el Sur, provides additional assistance and economic support to businesses establishing in Tabasco .

Vision

    It is clear that each region of the country has different ways based in a wide catalogue of variables among those that identify historical, cultural, geographical and political elements among others.

    We see that in development terms there are big distances and marked differences between the north and the south.

    We are a product of peculiar histories, historical attaches and different circumstances. However those who inhabit the south and the southeast of Mexico are dedicated to changing things to overcome our disadvantages and transform potentialities into project facts.

    Our regional economics are before crossroads. Today more than ever, we have the obligation and responsibility to find new participation spaces in the global phenomena of the regions.

    To achieve the score we have to look at the realities with imagination and think ourselves in the logics of what we had been, what we are, and where we want to be.

  Objectivity, wisdom, sense of the opportunity, intelligence and energy are necessary ingredients of the success that we are looking for.

  Trusting ourselves and putting the business opportunities in the hands of those who know how to make it are also elements that should converge with our purposes.

  It is for that reason the development model that we have been planting in Tabasco has been conceded inside a wide consent of the people of Tabasco, preserving and taking care of the law enforcement consciously has consolidated the climate of social stability to which we all aspire.

    Our model recognizes our historical experiences, likewise it incorporates the indispensable impulse that society should give to the questions that concern all, and it looks to enlarge into facilities the opportunities of more and better business. This is the vision that we want to transmit to all of you.

    Our land, our water, our people, in synthesis, our abundant resources and our will to achieve together the progress that all of us together aspire to.