Mexico Launches Investment Promotions Office to Streamline Permitting and Reduce Bureaucracy
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President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that a new presidential Office for Investment Promotion is designed to reduce corruption, digitize government procedures, and accelerate the approval of investment projects.
Sheinbaum said the office will initially handle projects exceeding 2 billion pesos ($108 million), with plans to later expand to medium-sized firms. The goal, she said, is to resolve administrative procedures within a maximum of 30 days.
“The objective is to eliminate corruption that can occur in any space, make everything digital and ensure very fast resolution of procedures so investments can begin,” Sheinbaum said during her daily news conference.
Officials said the office will evaluate and coordinate investment proposals through an interagency committee that includes the ministries of Economy, Finance, Energy, and Environment, as well as other federal agencies focused on digital transformation and anti-corruption policy.
The government reported that 22 investment projects have already been approved under the new framework, representing more than $8 billion in investment.
Ximena Escobedo Juárez, deputy minister for industry and commerce at the Economy Ministry, said the office will both assess projects and guide companies through regulatory processes. She said the system is intended to improve certainty for investors while reducing delays and administrative costs.
The administration also announced a National Digital Investment One-Stop Shop, which will allow companies to identify and manage permits online through a federal portal.
In a separate initiative, the government introduced a National Platform for Commercial Establishments aimed at simplifying the process for small businesses to begin operations. Officials said the platform reduces licensing requirements and allows some businesses to open in as little as 24 hours once requirements are met.
José Antonio Peña Merino, head of the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications, said the system reduces the number of licenses and requirements for new businesses and shifts verification responsibilities to authorities after business registration, rather than before opening.
He said the number of requirements to open a business has been reduced significantly, and processing times have been cut from an average of 60 days to near immediate approval in participating municipalities. The platform is currently active in 71 municipalities.
The government also highlighted regulatory simplification at the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks, known as Cofepris, saying the agency has reduced its number of procedures and shortened approval times for medical and clinical research applications.
Cofepris officials said procedures were reduced from 340 to 125 and average resolution times from 100 days to 24 days. Clinical research approvals, they said, have been reduced from up to nine months to about 30 days.
Officials also announced a public online registry of approved medicines and a planned single digital window for Cofepris procedures.
Government officials said the combined reforms are aimed at improving investment conditions, increasing transparency, and strengthening regulatory efficiency across sectors.
