GENERAL INFORMATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

The State of NUEVO LEON is located in the Northeast of Mexico. The capital city, Monterrey, is the third   largest city. With a population of three millions, it is a busy manufacturing, trade, banking, and education center. Nuevo Leon is divided into 51 municipalities and 74% of the state’s population lives in the metro area of Monterrey. Founded in 1596 in the skirts of Sierra Madre Oriental, surrounded by the famous Cerro de la Silla. Saddle Hill was chosen as Monterrey's logo among a wide variety of beautiful mountains. Because of its proximity to the United States, the state of Nuevo Leon makes a thriving combination of both cultures and stand out for this unique environment.

Monterrey is recognized throughout Mexico for its industrial, commercial and educational strength. Due to the city's natural surroundings, Monterrey has developed its tourist attractions, which have transformed the city into a popular center for important worldwide events:

In March 2002, the United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development was hosted in MONTERREY-CINTERMEX Convention Center with the participation of U.N.Secretary General Kofi ANNAN, President FOX and President BUSH among forty other Heads of States, Officials from Trade & Foreign Ministries, the World Bank, the IMF, and WTO. The summit-level meeting addressed key financial issues related to global development.

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With 700,000 sf, MONTERREY-CINTERMEX is the largest Convention Center in Latin America

Cintermex

CINTERMEX is a building with 65,000 m² of construction with an additional 35,000 m² (376,000 sf) available for expansion. More than 150 world class companies and institutions have their permanent offices at Cintermex.

Convention Center

• Meeting rooms holding from 8 to 3,000 people.

• NAFTA Room, which is made up of three conference rooms: Mexico, Unites States and Canada, each with capacity for 2,600 people.

• All rooms are centered around an ample greeting area where exhibitions can be established in order to make events more versatile.

Exposition Center

• 3 rooms of 23 feet in height.

• Cargo capacity of 348 pounds per square feet.

• Permanent Business Center:
  More than 150 world class corporations and organizations have permanent offices in CINTERMEX

Arena Monterrey 

Public Transportation

• Mariano Escobedo International Airport is located 30 minutes from downtown Monterrey and offers 250 flights daily.

• Del Norte (private) Airport offers 95 flights daily.

• Agualeguas: Potential development as cargo airport and maintenance base, in process of starting operations. Located 78 miles from Monterrey.
  A recently privatized railway system with connections to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico City, Torreon and Saltillo.

• The city’s urban transit system includes 147 bus routes.

• A subway system with 14 miles of tracks serving 137,000 passengers daily.

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Education and Training

Over 60% of Nuevo Leon’s annual budget is spent in education. With respect to high level education, Monterrey is the alma mater of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, internationally renowned for the quality of its education techniques and the level of excellence of its graduates. The Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, the Universidad de Monterrey and the Universidad Regiomontana, among other education institutions place Monterrey as the most important education center of the country.

With 9 universities and 231 technical and preparatory schools, private bilingual schools teaching English, German or French with very high academic standards.

• UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE NUEVO LEÓN

• Technological and Superiors Studies Institute of Monterrey (ITESM) Monterrey

• The American Institute of Monterrey, S.C.

• Private bilingual schools teaching English, German or French with very high academic standards.

Geography

The State of Nuevo León (65,555 Km²) borders with the states of San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Zacatecas in Mexico, and Texas in the U.S.A. Monterrey is located only two hours from the Texas border by land and Mexico City is just a short 75 minutes flight away. The State of Nuevo León has excellent highway system and railroad connections to four borders crossing in Texas and to all mayor cities and seaports throughout Mexico.

Located on the 100th Meridian, that is a central location within the American Continent. Total area of 24,963 square miles.

Weather

Monterrey’s weather is pleasant during late fall and winter, and hot and humid during late spring and summer. Average temperatures by season:

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Monterrey highlights

• Natural attractions less than an hour from the downtown area: Cola de Caballo (Horse Tail Water Falls), Grutas de García and Huasteca Canyon.

• Excellent health care services.

• Good quality of life and one of Mexico’s lowest crime rates.

• More than 13 museums.

• International art galleries

• Cultural attractions concentrated in the downtown area

• One of the most beautiful places of the city of Monterrey is the Gran Plaza. This modern urban and green area covers 40 hectares with old monuments, colonial houses, contrasting with new buildings surrounding it.

• Cafes, restaurants, and active night life in the Barrio Antiguo area.

• Fourteen five-star hotels, several golf courses, country and equestrian clubs

Country Club

• 450 restaurants of regional, Mexican and international cuisine.

• Eighteen banks with 603 branches, including Citibank and Bank of America.

• Commercial zones located throughout the city.

• Three Theme Parks: Parque Plaza Sesamo, Bioparque Estrella and Bosque Mágico.

• Concerts and Festivals through the year such as: Barrio Antiguo Cultural Festival, Nuevo Leon Theatre Festival, International Youth Soccer Tournament Copa Monterrey and the CART Series:

Monterrey Grand Prix, Parque Fundidora, Cintermex

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Industrial highlights

• First factory in Nuevo León was established in 1850.

• The State is considered the industrial pole of Mexico, due in part to the presence of more than ten thousand industries of different specialties that operate in the state: food production, beer, tobacco, glass, cement, plate, steel, chemical products, equipment and machinery are just some of the most important production areas, among others. Nuevo Leon's business base consists of:

  • 13,251 manufacturing companies

  • 55,302 retail establishments

  • 51,028 services firms

  • 1,755 companies belonging to other sectors.

• Monterrey is hometown of some of the biggest conglomerates in Mexico such as:
  CEMEX - CYDSA - FEMSA - IMSA - GRUMA - PROEZA - PROTEXA -PULSAR - RAMIREZ - VILLACERO - VITRO - ALFA - LAMOSA

• Many international corporations also at Monterrey are:
  ABB- MITSUBISHI - ALCOA - FUJIKURA - NAVISTAR - BASF - NORTEL-CATERPILLAR - PACKARD ELECTRIC - DANFOSS COMPRESSORS - PARKER ZENITH - DELPHI - PHELPS DODGE - DENSO - PIONEER - GE - RHONE POULENC - GRAINGER -SCI -J OHN DEERE - TOYOTA - KELLOGG'S - UNION CARBIDE - MERCEDES BENZ - FREIGHTLINER - YAZAKI - CELESTICA-INVENSYS - ELCOTEQ - JOHNSON & JOHNSON - OSRAM - LG- VISTEON-SANYO - PANASONIC - SOLECTRON

Economic Aspects

The State of Nuevo León generates:

• 8.6% of Mexico's GDP.

• 9.4% of manufactured products in Mexico.

Domestic production share of enterprises in Nuevo Leon. Percentage of total production:

• 75% of glass

• 75% of corn flour

• 70% of household appliances

• 60% of synthetic fibers

• 60% of cement

• 50% of beer

• 50% of ceramic products

• 25% of steel

In the year 2000, Nuevo Leon attracted 18.4% of foreign direct investment in Mexico. Mainly from the U.S. (70% of total investment), Holland accounted for 11%, Japan for 7% and Canada for 4% respectively.

Business Culture

Nuevo Leon is the industrial leader in Mexico with outstanding positions in sectors such as Beverage, Packaging, Cement, Glass, Steel, Auto Parts and Financial Service Industries. In the year 2000, the total revenues of Industrial Groups in Nuevo León were more than 31.3 Billion USD.

Regional Influence

Greater Monterrey is second only to Mexico City in its industrialization and world class production of steel, glass, cement, plastics, chemicals and other industrial products. Its flagship university, the "Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (Tec de Monterrey) is the one of the top institutions of higher learning in Latin America. The people of Monterrey have a culture that values hard work, self-reliance and entrepreneurship. Monterrey is home to the world’s largest nylon manufacturer and the world’s third largest cement and glass producers. Although Monterrey is the third largest city in Mexico, it has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

Demography

Distribution by gender
Women 50.04%
Men 49.96%

Total Population
3,684,845

Percentage of National Population
3.98%

Demographic Growth rate
2.4%

Population Density
55 per square km

Life Expectancy
74.7

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 Demographic Impact

Most workers in Monterrey are third and fourth generation factory workers. Traditionally known as the northern hub of Mexican industry, Monterrey has become a ideal site for the maquila industry as it migrates from the border region to the interior of Mexico in search of a more stable labor force. Eighteen percent of the country’s manufactured exports come from Monterrey.

Employment Considerations

In December of 2000, approximately 68,529 individuals were employed by 160 maquiladoras. (Source - Inegi 2000) . 55% of Monterrey’s appprox. 2.8 million residents are economically active.

Unemployment Rate

The open unemployment rate in Monterrey is 2.4% (Source INEGI 04-2000)

 Availability of Labor

Unlike most border cities, Monterrey experiences very low migration of its residents, this translates into lower employee-turnover rates.

The growth rate of Monterrey’s population adds 40,000 new individuals to the job market every year.

Monterrey has some of the best educated professional force in Mexico.

Communication - Energy Infrastructure

Fiber optic telephone lines throughout the city. Services Provided by but not limited to AT&T Alestra, XCI & Westel - Marcatel, MCI Avantel, Sprint Telmex, Axtel - BIC & WordTel.

Natural gas is available and distributed by a private company.

Customs

US Customs processes imports through Laredo Texas. Mexican Customs has facilities at the Colombia International Bridge and in Monterrey. Several customs brokers have offices in the city.

Taxes

The state imposes a 2% payroll tax but will make a 50% deduction for new companies during the first year of operations.

Service and Supplier Companies

Over eight thousand industrial companies and 30,000 service providers offer a broad range of industrial support services. Proximity to the US allows companies easy access to American suppliers and the US market.

Advantages

• The largest convention’s center in Latin America

• Due to its vast experience as an industrial center, Nuevo Leon boasts a highly skilled work force, both in traditional industrial activities, and in services and key activities such as computer systems. Monterrey's famed institutes of higher education have made a significant contribution in training many of Mexico's top-level professionals.

• Good quality of life and one of Mexico’s lowest crime rates.

• A highly educated workforce

• Ample supply of workers

• Excellent health care services.

• Excellent roads, transportation, telecommunications and housing infrastructure

• Lower labor turnover rates than border cities

• Mexico’s best technical training

• Good transportation and communication infrastructure

• Proximity to the US

• A well established network of shelter operations

• Home to some of the best candidates for a Mexican joint-venture partner

• A state government that fosters business development.

San Pedro Garza Garcia

Competitive Advantages

Labor: huge, very qualified industrial work force.
Very low cost of operations such as mold making, tool and dye services.

Infrastructure: highly developed
Facilities: full industrial services

Land, Industrial Properties: many existing facilities available for leasing or purchasing

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Real Estate Investment Opportunities

Options for product sharing in Mexico and Nuevo Leon:

Maquilas export assembly plants: because of the state's unique combination of complete industrial services, its proximity to the US border, a huge, qualified industrial work force and its highly developed infrastructure.

Subcontracting: the diversity of Nuevo Leon's manufacturing environment serves as a unique location for the production of a wide range of components of finished products. Subcontracting is especially profitable because of the city's high installed capacity.

 Joint Ventures: successfully combine foreign capital, technology and export marketing with the state's powerful manufacturing base. Many foreign companies prefer to form partnerships to profit from the support of Mexican companies that have already developed successful local strategies for managing labor, production, materials and freight.

Shelter operations  Shelter plans offer turnkey manufacturing services and subcontractors which delivers highly competitive, quality products to foreign buyers. Shelters allow foreign companies to take advantage of significant facilities. They offer complete staffing of both blue-collar and administrative employees. The foreign company often only provides the equipment and a key quality control supervisor.  

 Industrial Base: The state has a mature industrial base needed to support integrated manufacturing. The extent of the area's industrial resources creates a supplier network which can compete with the major industrial centers of the world.

When you decide to invest, expand, consolidate, manufacture, build to suit  or relocate in Nuevo León, AGIM Corporation will provide the skills and information required to make informed, effective real estate decisions. Our international experience and network of local associates, will optimize your chance to acquire or dispose of properties with the best return, ensuring that your specific objectives are realized.

Nuevo León - Wikipedia

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