Chile Sees FDI Spike 87 Percent in First Quarter

By Narayan Ammachchi

Chile received more than US$ 9 billion in foreign direct investment in the first quarter of this year, according to official figures released this week.

The FDI inflow increased 87 percent compared to $4.87 billion received in the previous three months. More than five billions dollars flowed into the country in March, the highest monthly foreign investment in the past 16 months, according to the Central Bank.

According to ECLAC, Chile received more than 30 billion USD in foreign direct investment in 2012, making it the second largest FDI recipient in the region after Brazil.

Last year, Latin America and the Caribbean set a record in foreign direct investment (FDI) (6.7% more than in 2011), despite  international conditions characterized by shrinking FDI flows worldwide.

Chile has also stepped up its investment elsewhere in the region. “Outward direct investment by LAC countries came from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, while in 2012 they came almost exclusively from Mexico and Chile,” says ECLAC.