Services Summit Could Attract New FDI into Peru

By Narayan Ammachchi

Peru expects its recently held ‘Services Summit’ to yield $49.3 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the next 12 months.

More than a hundred international service sector entrepreneurs, including Nearshore America’s founder Kirk Laughlin, attended the week-long conference held in the capital Lima.

During the course of the conference, several entrepreneurs from a range of sectors promised investment. “Sectors that closed deals include software with US$19.8 million, franchises with US 12 million, BPO with US$7.5 million and publishing with US$6.1 million,” according to Andina.

Service sector in Peru accounts for 65 percent of the FDI and more than 50 percent of the GDP, according to PromPeru, country’s trade promotion agency.

The agency stated that the country’s services export grew three times over the past three years and showing signs of a rapid growth in the years ahead.

The Andian country is home to a large number of Spanish call centers in Latin America but its IT services sector is yet to travel a long way to catch up with its neighbors including Colombia, say analysts.

FDI has continued to rise in Peru, which attracted more than $4.1 billion in FDI during the first quarter of 2013, a 15.4% year on year increase when compared to the same quarter last year.