Nicaragua does not have the best reputation on the global markets. President Daniel Ortega has been trying to circumnavigate the country's law and seek re-election at the end of his term in 2011, while Iran's $1.5m investment to build a hospital in the country - which some see not as a humanitarian gesture but a politically charged move - and close ties with Venezuela have made observers nervous about the region's rule of law and political stability.
However, to the country's finance minister, such concerns appear non-existent. "There are opportunities for business in Nicaragua and clear rules for businesses here," says Alberto José Guevara Obregón. And a recent surge in foreign interest in his country would seem to support his view.