Finance and Pensions & Investments Blog

The Director of ProChile, Alicia Frohmann, this week visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to inaugurate the ProChile Commercial Office in Dubai and see the great opportunities for presenting these markets for Chilean products and services.

Dubai is the commercial capital of an empire that is just waking up to over 1.200 million, 30% of the capital stock of the world, 30% of global energy reserves and a trillion dollars invested abroad.

“The Middle East is a region in Chile still lacks an economic and commercial presence. Country in terms of image, everything is done. In the UAE we barely know but are eager to know more about us, try our products and known investment opportunities. Our proposal is to use Chile as a platform of services and investments throughout Latin America, “he said.

Over the past five years, food imports to Dubai (a place of consumption and export) increased by 400%. “Chile, Food and Power, must be present with all products that are feasible to export to this area and build the initial phase of this growth,” said Frohmann.

“We are a secure and reliable supplier of raw materials such as copper and forest products, as well as food and drinks of high quality. Even some of our professional service providers are already working in this area. Chile can provide the climate business more stable and peaceful Latin America, a platform in the Pacific and global logistics services around the world, with preferential access to the largest economies, “said Alicia Frohmann andalusia along Commercial Attaché in the area, JeanPaul Tarud.

As for canned and processed foods, especially fruits and vegetables, focusing on the largest volume of export to all countries in the region, an increase of 600% in five years, according to Customs. There is a high potential to Chile, especially in higher quality canned and added value.
ProChile She will also visit Israel and Palestine in order to explore the opportunities presented by these countries for domestic shipments: “Israel is an economy in which we not only increase trade flows in goods and services but also develop partnerships technology, ‘joint ventures’ and cooperation. It is an example of an economy that originally exported agricultural products and then, incorporating value-added and knowledge, became a very competitive internationally, despite its complex political situation. “

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2007 reached the historic figure of U.S. $ 106,000 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, said today in Santiago, ECLAC.

The figure represents an increase of 46% over the previous year and is the highest amount recorded since 1999, when FDI reached U.S. $ 89,000 million in the region, said the ECLAC report.

The increase is mainly explained by the region’s economic growth and sustained global demand for raw materials, said the document “Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2007.”

By country, Brazil led the reception of foreign investment last year with $ 34.585 million, followed by Mexico $ 23,230 million, U.S. $ 14.457 million Chile and Colombia U.S. $ 9.028 million.

Extent compared with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), excluding the financial centers of the Caribbean, the largest recipients were Panama, Chile and four Central American countries (Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua).

Among the major investors in the region were the USA, the Netherlands (Holland) and Spain, ECLAC appropriated.

He added that, while investment flows from Latin America and the Caribbean to other regions of the world declined last year to U.S. $ 20,619 million in 2006 after reaching a maximum of U.S. $ 42,000 million.
EFE