El Salvador can follow Singapore’s example and become a financial center in the Americas, according to Gabor Gurbacs, strategic advisor at investment management firm VanEck.
“I often tell portfolio managers and asset allocators that El Salvador has the potential to become the Singapore of the Americas,” Gurbacs explained in a post from X (formerly Twitter) on October 28.
Similar to what Singapore achieved in the late 1990s, Gurbacs expects new capital investment and immigration to be the main drivers of El Salvador’s further economic growth in the coming years.
His comments come in response to an October 28 post by American broadcaster and Bitcoiner Max Keizer, which was titled “Move to #ElSalvador, the new land of the free.”
Keiser, who now lives in El Salvador, cited bitcoin (btc) and the legal tender status of the US dollar, a cleanup of Salvadoran crime, great beaches and great coffee as some of the main reasons why the Central American country should be on everyone’s radar. .
I often tell portfolio managers and asset allocators that El Salvador has the potential to become the Singapore of the Americas. I expect a continued increase in immigration, capital investment, and overall growth in El Salvador. https://t.co/CmT554x12j
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) October 28, 2023
El Salvador’s status as an emerging economy became more prominent when Nayib Bukele was elected president of the country in June 2019.
El Salvador’s sovereign bonds have outperformed many other emerging markets this year, returning a surprising 70% in August. It even caught the attention of JPMorgan and other large investment banks.
The FIAT guys in @jpmorgan They say El Salvador is finally “getting some credit.”
They’re just catching up.
Soon it will be: “Salvadoran bonds are now Investment Grade.”
You will see pic.twitter.com/6Z1r7iS9M4
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 9, 2023
Bukele and the government of El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender in September 2021 and launched a bitcoin custodial wallet, Chivo Wallet, for all Salvadorans in the same week.
El Salvador is also taking advantage of its volcanic resources to promote a bitcoin-miner-volcano-energy-launches-with-250m-investment” data-amp=”https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-s-bitcoin-miner-volcano-energy-launches-with-250m-investment/amp”>bitcoin mining startup Volcano Energy launched in June after a $1 billion investment. Keizer serves as executive chairman of the company.
Its first mining pool was launched following a partnership with bitcoin miners Luxor technology in October.
Related: El Salvador’s bitcoin Strategy Evolved With Bear Market in 2022
El Salvador named Saifedean Ammous, author of The bitcoin Standard as economic advisor to the National bitcoin Office in May. The country plans to accumulate bitcoin as a strategy to clear its debt in the next five years.
Bukele also took a bold step to eliminate all taxes on technological innovations in April, which could attract more entrepreneurs and foreign capital to enter the country.
Magazine: What it’s really like to use bitcoin in El Salvador
