Honduras Business News

Honduras's transparency law is already in force, and the formal registration process for beneficial owners of accounts and entities will open in January, officials say, to strengthen legal certainty and transparency.

Honduras's development secretary says authorities will inspect Chinese-owned shops for tax compliance, product quality, and labor standards, responding to complaints from local merchants that they cannot compete fairly.

The Private Sector Council is supporting the Fourth National Women's ALMA Meeting on October 14 in Tegucigalpa, featuring business networking, an expo, and panels on technology and inclusive economic growth.

Diunsa will open its first store in southern Honduras at Pacific Place, a new 25,000-square-meter mall in Choluteca, in a 700-million-lempira investment expected to create 350 direct jobs and about 1,400 indirect positions.

Honduras is negotiating with Brazilian company Be8 on a soya and biodiesel project that could span 200,000 hectares and create 100,000 rural jobs while reducing reliance on imported soya meal and fuel.

Guatemala's agriculture ministry recognized 47,000 hectares in Honduras's Arenal and Olanchito municipalities as free of the Mediterranean fruit fly, eliminating extra quarantine requirements for fruit and vegetable exports to countries like the United States.

Protest signs against Chinese retailers appeared in Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela as small Honduran merchants express alarm over competing with larger, better-capitalized stores that can import goods in bulk.

Honduras's banking regulator alerts the public to fraudulent investment offers circulating on Telegram that impersonate the brokerage firm CABVAL and its manager, urging investors to verify all offers through official channels before sending money.

Brazilian investors are analyzing the feasibility of commercial soy production and construction of a biodiesel plant in Honduras, potentially adding an agricultural processing sector to the country's economy.

The US Embassy in Tegucigalpa announced two permanent full-time positions in its public affairs section, offering monthly salaries of about L45,134 (roughly $1,800 USD) for a 40-hour week.

Authorities turned back a cargo ship carrying 57,000 tons of cement after the importer failed to register under a new technical standard that took effect October 6, requiring lab-certified proof of quality; 7,000 tons that arrived before the deadline were permitted to land.

The Agriculture Ministry has invested L2.5 million (about $100,000) to reopen a tilapia fingerling facility in Comayagua that will supply juveniles to fish farmers at 50 cents per unit, aiming to lower startup costs and boost regional aquaculture production.

France, the agricultural research center CATIE, and the French research institute CIRAD have identified coffee, cacao, forest restoration, and biodiversity as areas for potential joint projects and funding in Honduras, building on three decades of scientific collaboration in Central America.

Chinese-backed stores expanding across Honduras since the 2023 diplomatic opening have left small merchants reporting sales drops of up to 70% and facing unfair competition through alleged tax breaks and inflated rent bids, prompting calls for equal regulatory oversight.

Consumer Protection director Danilo Lou announced that five businesses will be fined for selling expired or spoiled food and failing to apply mandatory senior discounts during the Morazánica holiday week, with fine amounts still to be determined after inspectors assess the violations.

US power companies have expressed interest in investing in Honduras's energy sector following the September enactment of the Energy Justice Law, the government says.

Honduras's Ministry of Economic Development announced that uncertified cement will be prohibited from the market starting October 6 under a new technical standard.

Honduras's investment minister met with about 50 U.S. and international business leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York to promote investment opportunities in logistics and other sectors, saying improved credit ratings could unlock better financing terms.

Honduras's poultry industry reports losses of at least 6 million lempiras (about $240,000) amid production pressures, avian flu surveillance, and constraints on egg prices that the government and producers are addressing through reference pricing.

Under new rules, Honduras's ENEE must use public tenders rather than direct contracts for future power purchases, with the first bidding process required to launch within 180 days and conclude within a year.

Merchants warn that the growing presence of Chinese products and stores threatens Honduras's small and medium businesses, which struggle to compete on price and selection, with concerns over a proposed mega-store affecting thousands of market vendors.

The head of Honduras's micro and small-business association claims Chinese-owned companies operating in Honduras receive tax exemptions on imports, sales, income, and services that local entrepreneurs do not, creating unequal competition.

A union leader called the suspension of 300 workers at a garment factory in El Progreso an indirect layoff, warning that after 120 days without work most lose their jobs permanently and urging affected employees to file a collective claim for severance and benefits.

COHEP and partners including the National Industrialists Association, the Development Ministry, and the UN Industrial Development Organization visited Amarateca to evaluate potential locations for industrial ecoparks aimed at promoting sustainable development and job creation.

Women coffee growers from five Honduran departments completed their first direct international export in September through the National Network of Women Coffee Growers, a pilot operation that taught participants the commercial, operational, and documentary requirements for selling abroad.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tegucigalpa and the government's Results Management Office signed an agreement to implement advanced electronic signatures nationwide, aiming to streamline corporate paperwork, cut processing times and costs, and modernize state-business interactions.

A U.S. State Department report finds Honduras has investment advantages—proximity to the United States, CAFTA-DR trade access, and over 200 American companies operating there—but says high electricity costs, logistics gaps, corruption, and legal uncertainty continue to deter expansion.

A representative of small and medium enterprises warned that ongoing power cuts and rising fuel prices pose an existential threat to hundreds of businesses across Honduras.

Roatán will host a job fair on October 2, organized by the municipal government and the Labor Ministry, offering positions in sales, hospitality, restaurants, maintenance, customer service, and other sectors.

The intercity bus sector, losing thousands of lempiras daily on major routes, is calling on the government to negotiate a subsidy or bonus to offset falling passenger revenue and rising operational costs including wages, fuel, taxes, and extortion.