Brazil was the main recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI, resources that go to the productive sector of the country) in Latin America and the Caribbean, in 2011, according to the report of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), released yesterday. The report ,called Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, shows that the country received US$ 66.7 billion, 43.8% of the total flow to the region. After Brazil comes Mexico (US$ 19.4 billion), Chile (US$ 17.3 billion) and Colombia (US$ 13.2 billion).

In total, Latin America and the Caribbean received a record volume of US$ 153.4 billion in foreign direct investment in 2011, which represents 10% of those global flows. In 2010, the region received US$ 120.9 billion. The previous maximum historical value had been registered in 2008 (US$ 137 billion).According to ECLAC, there is a productive specialization in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, the manufacturing and services sectors received 46.4% and 44.3%, respectively, while the natural resources remained with 9.2%.

According to the report, the European Union (EU) is the largest investor in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the last decade, the EU has invested an average of US$ 30 billion per year in the region, 40% of the total received. Those investments were directed primarily to South America and are diversified across a wide range of industries, with focus on strategic segments, such as electricity and banks. Due to the uncertainty of the international scenario, the ECLAC is projecting that in 2012 the entries of FDI in the region may vary between -2% and 8% in respect of 2011.

07 May 2012