Featured Country: Chile: Home to the Andes Mountains, the Republic of Chile is a nation poised to play a larger role in the global business world. Following a severe 1970 depression, Chile began to shift towards a more privatized economic system. The shift paid off, and over the last three decades, Chile has become one of Latin America’s most stable and prosperous nations. Chile also recently widened its access to the global trade market by signing Free Trade Agreements(FTAs) with global power players such as China, the U.S., European Union, Singapore, and Japan. In addition to the FTAs, Chile’s laissez-faire business regulations and strong protection of property rights have made it an ideal trade partner. This has led to a high volume of foreign trade, and Chile becoming the 25^th most competitive country in the world.  As for the goods and services which make them competitive, Chile’s economy is highly dependent on mining, as it is home to the largest copper reserves in the world. Other major Chilean industries include manufacturing and financial services. The commodity bubble of 2008 allowed Chile to amass large amounts of capital, and responsible fiscal policies have allowed this capital to help carry the nation through the recent economic downturn. The extra capital makes Chile primed for future growth as the rest of the world recovers.

“Sustainable Development” has quickly become a term used by companies across the world to explain efforts addressing the use of natural resources.  Generally speaking, the concept describes how a company can increase its efficiency, thereby reducing its overall impact on mother earth.  The demand in the marketplace to solve energy-related issues is growing, based on recent changes in global governmental policy.