According to Gabor Gurbacs, strategy adviser at investment management company VanEck, El Salvador can emulate Singapore and grow into a major financial hub in the Americas.
In a post on Oct. 28, X (formerly Twitter), Gurbacs said, “I say often to portfolio managers and asset allocators that El Salvador has the potential to become the Singapore of the Americas.”
Gurbacs believes that immigration and fresh capital investment will be the primary forces behind El Salvador’s improved economic growth over the coming years, much like what Singapore accomplished in the late 1990s.
His remarks are a reaction to a post made on October 28 by American broadcaster and Bitcoin enthusiast Max Keiser, with the caption, “Move to #ElSalvador, The New Land of the Free.”
Keiser, who currently resides in El Salvador, enumerated some of the key reasons the Central American nation should be on everyone’s radar, including Bitcoin and the US dollar’s legal tender status, a decrease in crime, beautiful beaches, and excellent coffee.
El Salvador’s emerging economy status gained prominence following Nayib Bukele’s election to the presidency in June 2019.
El Salvador’s government bonds have produced an astounding 70% return by August, outperforming those of many other emerging markets this year. Even JPMorgan and other major investment banks took notice of it.
In September 2021, Bukele and the El Salvadorian government declared Bitcoin to be legal tender. The same week, they made the Chivo Wallet, a Bitcoin custodial wallet, available to all Salvadorans.
In addition, El Salvador is using its volcanic resources to fuel Volcano Energy, a startup that mines Bitcoins and was founded in June following a $1 billion investment. Keiser is the executive chairman of the company.
In October, it partnered with Bitcoin miners Luxor Technology to launch its first mining pool.
The National Bitcoin Office in El Salvador hired Saifedean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard, as an economic advisor in May. The nation intends to amass Bitcoin as a means of paying off its debt in the next five years.
In April, Bukele also took the risky decision to remove all taxes on technological advancements, which might encourage more business owners and foreign investment to settle in the nation.