Aruba Free Zone - Overview

The free zone of Aruba has a long and varied history and has been in operation since the 1950's. Over the years the main types of businesses have been a reflection of local business going global. Whereas there used to be a focus on traditional trade with Colombia and Venezuela, the current businesses in the free zone operate in many different areas and are geared towards many countries.

Service delivery is the fastest growing sector, and was made possible by means of the new free zone legislation, enacted in 2001. All types of services are possible, with the exception of financial services. Opportunities lie in the area of medical clinics, technical services such as engineering, logistics, software development, R&D, and of course, concentrating the white collar aspects (sales and marketing, training, etc.) of any business in the free zone. This last opportunity, a safe haven, can be very attractive for companies wishing to do business amidst unstable socio-economic and political factors throughout Latin America. Another added benefit of operating from the free zone of Aruba are the possibilities offered by specific trade regulations, such as the OCT for those wishing to export to the EU and the CBI for those wishing to export to the United States.

FZA NV is currently developing niche markets, such as companies in need of the distribution hub and high-tech companies (and countries!) wanting to showcase their goods to prospective buyers, saving time and money on both sides. The free zone development has taken expansion of all types of business into consideration, there is 100 ha adjacent to the port and airport available for development.