Paraguay has seen accelerated growth in the establishment of foreign companies, according to Eduardo Gustale, Vice Minister of the Investment and Export Network (Rediex). In 2024, 490 companies with foreign capital were incorporated, a figure that rose to 660 in 2025, representing an increase of nearly 35%.
Beyond the quantitative growth, there has been a shift in the profile of investors, who are moving from exploring business opportunities to making concrete investments, particularly in the industrial, logistics, technology, and services sectors. The origin of investments has also diversified, with an increase in projects from Europe, North America, and Asia, in addition to the traditional sources of Brazil and Argentina.
Over the past two and a half years, more than 80 projects have been approved under the Maquila regime, and around 100 under the investment incentive regime. The sectors covered include textiles, global services, pharmaceuticals, metalworking, plastics, food, logistics, and advanced manufacturing, highlighting a diversification and sophistication of the Paraguayan economy.
The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) goes beyond tax revenue, generating formal employment, fostering local suppliers, logistics services, infrastructure rental, and energy demand, as well as promoting technology transfer, workforce training, and the development of new production chains.
Among Paraguay's current competitive advantages are cheap renewable energy, a simple tax regime, a young population with an average age close to 29, macroeconomic stability and predictability, evidenced by the recent attainment of investment grade. These characteristics attract investors who value setting up plants and hiring staff.
The sectors with the greatest potential include agribusiness with added value, food and beverages, textile manufacturing, forestry, metalworking, global services, logistics, biofuels, green hydrogen, data centers, electric mobility, and technology services, which benefit from the country's abundant and competitive renewable energy.
Among the challenges identified are the need for improvements in logistics infrastructure, especially in transportation, connectivity, and multimodal logistics, as well as the training of specialized human capital to meet the demands of sophisticated industries. There are also efforts to reduce timelines and streamline administrative processes.
Initiatives such as the Investor Pass seek to attract not only companies but also talent, entrepreneurs, executives, and investors, offering more agile and less bureaucratic processes. Updates to the Maquila and investment incentive regimes aim to prepare around 250 new companies to operate in the country.