Economy of Montevideo:
As the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is the economic and political centre of the country. Most of the largest and wealthiest businesses in Uruguay have their headquarters in the city. Since the 1990s the city has undergone rapid modern development economically, with two of Uruguay's most important buildings the World Trade Center Montevideo, built from 1998, and Telecommunications Tower the headquarters of Uruguay's government owned telecommunications company, ANTEL, built in 2000 being recent developments which increasingly connect the city to the global market.
The Port of Montevideo, located in the northern part of the Old City area plays a very important role in the economy and especially given its optimum location is one of the major ports of South America. The port has been growing rapidly and consistently at an average annual rate of 14 percent due to an increase in foreign trade. The city has received a $20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to modernize the port to increase its size and efficiency and to enable lower maritime and river transportation coats.
The most important state owned companies with their headquarters in Montevideo are: AFE (Railways), ANCAP (Energy), Administracion Nacional de Puertos (Ports), ANTEL, ANCEL and ANTELDATA (Telecommunications), BHU (Mortgage Bank),BROU (Bank), BSE (Insurance), OSE (Water & Sewage), UTE (Electricity). These companies operate under public law, using a legal entity defined in the Uruguayan Constitution called 'Ente Autonomo' (Meaning Autonomic Entity). The government also owns parts of other companies operating under private law like the National Airline Carrier PLUNA and others owned totally or partially by the CND National Development Corporation.
Banking has traditionally been one of the strongest service export sectors in Uruguay, the country was once dubbed "the Switzerland of America", . mainly for its banking sector and stability, although the stability of the banks is no longer the case given the current global economic climate. The largest bank in Uruguay is Banco Republica, or BROU, based in Montevideo. Almost 20 private banks, most of them branches of international banks, operate in the country. There are also a myriad of brokers and financial-services bureaus, among them Ficus Capital, Galfin Sociedad de Bolsa, Europa Sociedad de Bolsa, Darío Cukier, GBU, Hordeñana & Asociados Sociedad de Bolsa, etc.