Paraná
Paraná is the northernmost state in Brazil’s South Region and one of the most progressive states in the country. Its area is a little greater than 199 thousand km² and the population is just over 10 million inhabitants, which makes us the sixth most populous of the 27 Brazilian states. Immigration along the 19th and 20th centuries brought here several ethnic groups, such as Polish, Italians, Germans, Ukrainians, Dutch, Spanish and Japanese, making this a place that is known as “The Land of All Peoples”.
There are four natural areas in the state, each one with its own characteristics: progress, innovation, environmental and humanistic concerns in the capital and surrounding areas, agro-industrial expansion in the North and Southwest regions, the awesome Iguaçu Waterfalls and the huge Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant in the West.
Paraná has a diversity of landscapes, soils, habits, people and activities that make it a special place and places us in a privileged position in the Brazilian scenario and in the main local and Latin America’s markets. The state is in the middle of a region where more than 220 million people live and that produces more than 1.3 trillion dollars yearly. We have the Port of Paranaguá, one of the most important and one of the major grain terminals of the country.
Paraná is the youngest State in the South Region but despite this, it’s the fifth wealthiest state in Brazil. It’s the best Brazilian state to be invested in and the various competitive features it has makes it attractive for the deployment of several economic segments and especially for service providers.
The several Convention Centers scattered throughout our main cities, like Curitiba, Foz do Iguaçú, Londrina, Maringá and Ponta Grossa place us as one of the most searched regions for congresses and events in general, adding to tourism and increasing the market for service providers, a sector that accounted for US$ 42 billion in 2006. From this amount, information services accounted for 4.4 % that same year.
The Rede APL Paraná
The Rede APL Paraná – Paraná’s Cluster Support Network is composed by State Government’s bureaus, by the FIEP System (Industrial Federation of Paraná), by Sebrae Paraná (Brazilian Support Service for Medium and Small Companies), BRDE (Extreme South Regional Development Bank), the Bank of Brazil and bank Bradesco, by the IBQP (Brazilian Quality and Productivity Institute) and CURITIBA S.A.[1]. Rede APL Paraná’s purpose is to better articulate the several players to act in their clusters, once it’s the state’s administration perception that an essential strategy for the development that is targeted for our state is to well deploy and consolidate clusters. This is achieved by structuring plans, studies and support actions, and by fostering the development of companies or institutions that are located in areas with an evident productive specialization, thus allowing the clusters’ better effectiveness and greater economic results.
Regarding taxes, a clever set of bills issued as from 2003 rules clearly and broadly how the State of Paraná grants tax incentives and benefits. These are aimed at the companies already present in Paraná, as well as those who wish to deploy or expand their activities in the State, be they local or foreign. Because there is a policy to rationalize and reduce industry concentration, benefits are higher in those cities with lower social and economic development levels.
