Interview · September 21, 2026 · Radar Inversión
The agreement between Mercosur and Singapore opens a new route for investment, trade and integration with Southeast Asia. Bruno Jaén-Bohorques, Paraguay representative of the MERCOSUR-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and president of the Association of Entrepreneurs of Paraguay (ASEPY), analyzes the opportunities opening up for the country and the conditions required to turn them into concrete investments and business.
“Paraguay has the conditions to become the bridge between ASEAN and Mercosur.”
Bruno Jaén-Bohorques
Lawyer and founding partner of LEXIN Legal Advisors. He represents the MERCOSUR-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce in Paraguay and serves as president of the Association of Entrepreneurs of Paraguay (ASEPY). His career includes roles at the Ministries of Industry and Commerce and Finance, representation before the IDB, diplomatic experience as minister at the Embassy of Paraguay in Buenos Aires, and advisory roles linked to the Presidency of the Republic and Itaipú.
Interview
1. In your interview on Loop, you said that the main challenge after the Mercosur–Singapore agreement is the lack of mutual knowledge. From Paraguay’s perspective, what should be done now to turn that agreement into concrete investments and business?
The agreement is a tool, but by itself it does not generate business. To turn it into concrete results, we need to work actively to bring both markets closer together.
Paraguay needs to tell a clear and compelling story in Singapore: what we produce, which sectors are competitive, what advantages we offer, and why an Asian company should establish operations here. That requires trade missions in both directions, sector-specific business rounds, information in English, concrete investment projects, and a more permanent institutional and business presence in Singapore.
We also need to identify Singaporean companies that are already seeking to expand into Latin America and present them with specific opportunities, including figures, local partners and legal certainty. In Asia, commercial relationships are built over time, through trust and continuity. A one-off visit is not enough: we need to maintain a sustained agenda.
The first objective should be to secure a few successful cases and turn them into examples. A first Singaporean investment that performs well can open the door to many others.
2. You mentioned that one of the first opportunities could be in logistics and ports. Why could Paraguay be attractive to Singaporean investors in this sector, and what concrete advantages do we have compared with other countries in the region?
Singapore is one of the world’s leading logistics, port and financial hubs. Paraguay, although landlocked, has a strong river-based commercial culture and one of the largest barge fleets in the region. The Paraguay–Paraná Waterway connects our production with Atlantic ports and is strategic infrastructure for regional trade.
Our main advantage is location: we are in the center of South America, between Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Paraguay can function as a hub for distribution, storage, transformation and re-export to much larger markets.
In addition, we have competitive costs, abundant renewable electricity, regimes such as maquila, a relatively low tax burden, and private-sector experience in navigation and port operations. For a Singaporean company, this opens opportunities in ports, intermodal terminals, storage, logistics technology, traceability, customs digitalization and infrastructure financing.
The opportunity is not to compete with the major seaports of Brazil or Argentina, but to position ourselves as the river and industrial node connecting the productive heart of the continent with those ports.
3. Beyond logistics and ports, in which sectors do you currently see the greatest opportunities to attract investment from Singapore and Southeast Asia into Paraguay?
I see opportunities particularly in five areas.
The first is the food industry. Paraguay has strong production capacity in beef, soybeans, corn, rice, sesame, chia, stevia, yerba mate and other foods. Singapore imports much of what it consumes and seeks reliable suppliers, traceability and food security. The opportunity is not only to export raw materials, but also to industrialize them and add value in Paraguay.
The second is energy. Our competitive renewable electricity mix can attract investment in energy-intensive industries, data centers, energy storage, electric mobility and green fuels.
The third is technology. Singapore has experience in fintech, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, smart cities and the digitalization of public services. Paraguay can offer young talent, competitive costs and access to the regional market.
The fourth is manufacturing under the maquila regime. An Asian company can manufacture or assemble in Paraguay and use the country as a platform to supply Mercosur.
Finally, there is significant room in infrastructure, agritech, biotechnology, water management, the forestry economy and project finance. In all of these sectors, Paraguay contributes resources and growth opportunities, while Singapore can contribute capital, technology, management and access to international networks.
4. You also said that MSMEs should begin to look beyond the local market. What real opportunities does this agreement open for a small or medium-sized Paraguayan company, and what would it need to do to take advantage of them?
For a Paraguayan MSME, the agreement does not mean that it will automatically begin exporting to Singapore. What it does is reduce barriers and create a more favorable framework for entering that market.
There are opportunities for differentiated products such as healthy foods, organic products, stevia, chia, sesame, yerba mate, processed foods, forestry products and specialized manufactured goods. There are also opportunities in services that can be delivered digitally, such as software, design, consulting, business services and technology solutions.
Singapore should also not be seen only as a market of roughly six million consumers, but as a regional hub from which companies can reach distributors, investors and commercial networks throughout Southeast Asia.
To take advantage of this, an MSME must do four things: identify a specific niche; adapt its product to the sanitary, technical and presentation standards of the Asian market; achieve sufficient volume and continuity of supply; and find a reliable importer or commercial partner.
Many small companies will not be able to do this alone. That is why export consortia, cooperation among companies, and support from business associations and public institutions will be essential. To compete internationally, we have to move from the logic of selling what we produce to producing what the international market demands.
5. Finally, looking at the coming years, can the agreement with Singapore become the gateway to a much broader economic relationship between Paraguay and ASEAN? What should Paraguay do now to position itself as an entry platform to Mercosur for Southeast Asian companies?
Yes. Singapore can be Paraguay’s gateway to Southeast Asia and, at the same time, Paraguay can become a platform for companies from that region to enter Mercosur.
But we must understand that the agreement is with Singapore and that access to the rest of ASEAN will have to be built from that relationship. Singapore is a financial, technological and logistics hub from which thousands of Asian and international companies operate. A strong relationship with Singapore can connect us with Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and other fast-growing markets.
To position itself, Paraguay needs to define a long-term strategy. This means promoting concrete projects, strengthening REDIEX and the foreign service in Asia, facilitating the establishment of foreign companies, improving connectivity and logistics infrastructure, providing clear rules, and training professionals with knowledge of English and Asian business culture.
We also need to build a national value proposition: establish operations in Paraguay to produce with renewable energy and competitive costs, add value, use the available investment regimes, and access the region’s major markets from here.
Paraguay has the conditions to become the bridge between ASEAN and Mercosur, but that positioning will not emerge spontaneously. It requires presence, promotion, continuity and a very close partnership between the public and private sectors. The agreement has opened a door; now we need the determination and preparation required to walk through it.