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
