Chile at a Glance 2005 Population: 16,300,000 Population under 34: 58 percent Literacy rate: 96 percent Total work force: 6.3 million GDP: US$115.2 billion GDP growth rate: 6.1 percent GDP per capita (nominal): $5,900 Major exports: copper, fresh fruit, wine, paper & printing Exports of goods and services: $48.2 billion Major imports: consumer goods, chemicals, motor vehicles, fuels, heavy industrial machinery Foreign direct investment (net): $7.2 billion Weighted average annual rate of inflation (1995-2004): 1.72 percent Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 14th of 157 countries Time Zone: Same as U.S. Eastern time zone April – October; two hours ahead of U.S. EST November – March Sources: invest@Chile-CORFO (www.hightechchile.com), and the 2006 Index of Economic Freedom published by The Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org) and The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com), Economist Intelligence Unit

   The importance of economic and political stability to the world's high- tech enterprises cannot be overstated; it can be said that this factor is the one that seals the deal as IT players seek a beach head in Latin America.
   "Software AG expects to grow and expand its operations in stable, emerging countries first," says Bernhard Hitpass, general manager of Software AG's operations in Chile, where it develops enterprise software solutions for governments and businesses. "Chile is Latin America's most competitive and stable economy," he asserts, citing its low-risk business climate, economic freedom, transparency in government rules and attractive business environment.
   Silicon Valley- based Synopsys, a developer of software used in the design of semiconductors, clearly requires a highly skilled work force, and it is finding one in Santiago, where it is establishing a software engineering group that will number 60 by 2009.
   "Country stability and the level of electronics and computer science engineers are the key factors Synopsys considered," relates Victor Grimblatt, the company's R&D managing director in Santiago. "The mission of this specific location is to develop high quality software in a small number of specialized areas cost- effectively. Chile is our first operation in Latin America, and we would like to motivate the electronics industry in the region from here."