InvestChile, the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, said that foreign direct investment (FDI) in Chile in 2021 was up by 97%, on the previous year, at $17 billion, according to official figures. This number is 62% higher than the five-year average and 16% more than the average for the period 2003-2021.
InvestChile also wrapped up 2021 with a record $28 billion in its project portfolio, indicated by InvestChile Managing Director, Andrés Rodríguez.
Rodríguez said that the figures “are excellent news for Chile.” He added that “foreign investment projects take years of planning and go through several stages before being implemented, so what we are seeing is a continuity that has not been interrupted and which is another sign of the confidence international companies have in our country.”
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has forecast growth of 10%-15% in global foreign investment for this year, following the pandemic-induced 40% drop in 2020. “Growth in Chile has far outstripped this estimate, which is highly significant as we enter a year that will see a continuation of the efforts to fully reactivate the economy and employment in our country, tasks in which foreign investment will continue to play an important role.”
InvestChile also set a new record in 2021
The record $28 billion in InvestChile’s project portfolio in 2021 is the highest figure to date since the agency was founded five years ago, and represents a 25.1% increase over 2020. The projects managed by the agency, presently at different stages of development, had the highest level of associated employment over the last five-year period – 20,886 potential jobs, 38% more than in 2020.
Energy once again led the portfolio, with 53 projects valued at close to $13 billion; followed by the Global Services and Technology sectors, with almost $6 billion; and Mining and its suppliers, with $5 billion. In terms of specific countries, China tops the list, with almost $8 billion; followed by the United States, with projects valued at $5 billion; and Canada, with $3 billion.
