Brasília – Latin America and the Caribbean received US$ 173.4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2012, the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) announced this Tuesday (14th). It is the highest FDI inflow ever recorded in the region. The sum is up 6.7% from 2011.
The main targets of FDI in the region last year were Brazil (US$ 65.2 billion), Chile (US$ 30.3 billion), Colombia (US$ 15.8 billion), Argentina (US$ 12.5 billion) and Peru (US$ 12.2 billion). The United States and the European Union countries remain the leading investors.
According to an Eclac report, the hike in FDI stems from sustained economic growth in the region, high raw materials’ prices, and high profitability levels.
In 2013, the commission estimates that FDI inflows will range from US$ 167.9 billion to US$ 185.2 billion. This broad range is “due to uncertainty over whether a recently announced large cross-border acquisition will materialize in 2013” according to the Eclac report.
The Eclac is referring to the sale of Grupo Modelo (a Mexican brewery) to the Belgian-Brazilian group Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB Inbev), the world’s leading beer maker. The transaction is worth US$ 20 billion.
In a press release, Eclac’s executive secretary Alicia Bárcena said the results “attest to the good current performance of the Latin American economy,” despite the external scenario of sharp decline in global flows. Still, she said she sees “no clear signs of FDI making a relevant contribution to generating new sectors or creating activities with a high technology content,” according to the release.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
