Uruguay’s top real estate investors is planning to raise $165 million to wager that demand for office space is about to take off as foreigners flock to the nation known as the Switzerland of South America. Investors including architect Ernesto Kimelman and construction executive Eduardo Campiglia are seeking to sell hybrid securities through a real estate trust, Fideicomiso Financiero Platinum. The cash raised through the sale will go toward building two office towers and a 98-unit apartment building expected to house locals and newcomers to the nation of 3.5 million people. Wedged between Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay has leveraged its economic and political stability to persuade companies like chemicals producer BASF SE and oil-trading giant Trafigura Group to open local offices. The government is also offering generous tax breaks to attract skilled immigrants, and revive investment and the broader economy.
Uruguay saw its first billionaires emerge in recent weeks from the sector with the initial public offering of cloud-based payment platform Dlocal Ltd. The company — which allows businesses like Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to bill clients in emerging markets — now trades with a market capitalization of about $14 billion. The pandemic is far from over in Uruguay, with the nation only recently ceding its global lead, by one measure, of per capita deaths. Its vaccination program has delivered two shots to more than 42% of the population.