Orand expects to boost R&D activities by 60%
In response to the enactment of the new R&D Law that goes into effect on September 7th this year, Orand General Manager Mauricio Palma spoke about the impact this law will have on private businesses. He believes it will encourage them to invest in research and development:
- What impact do you think the new R&D law will have? How much are you planning to invest in R&D?
This new law eliminates a considerable number of restrictions of the old law. It covers doing R&D in your own company as well as with other partners. Waiting for certification is no longer necessary. The law is applicable from the project’s very inception. Aside from other changes, now you can deduct additional expenses, like intellectual property costs, and it also revised down the annual business income limit.
These changes are important, since, by applying the law, businesses can take advantage of the pace of both market and technological developments. Applying for these benefits should not have to entail delaying or negatively impacting project development, especially in the private sector. This concern is handled with much better precision in this new law.
Hence, we are quite pleased to see the new R&D law correcting errors of the previous one, and hope it will be an effective vehicle to promote applied research in Chilean industries.
- What other consequences does the new R&D Law have? What are your projections and strategies?
In our view, there is a growing trend in the Chilean industry to include R&D in their operations. Since the incentives this new law offers are in synch with this trend, we expect it will boost investments in this area. At present, Orand is fortunate to be working with leading institutions in banking and retail, and in the public sector. Very soon we expect to start working on projects in telecommunications, mining and energy.
In sum, we are in the process of fully expanding. This is stimulating, since it is a symptom that R&D in this country is moving forward. Throughout 2012, Orand will be dedicating over 60% of its operations to these types of projects .
