Chile authorises the largest amount of foreign investment in eight yearsPublished: June 30, 2009
The Foreign Investment Committee (Cinver) highlighted that the authorised initiatives mainly come from the United States, Australia and Spain. In the first semester, they represent the highest level of foreign investment in recent years.
Authorised foreign investment in Chile reached almost US$ 4.4 billion in the first semester, despite the current global crisis. The committee highlighted that in the first three months of this year materialised investment amounted to almost US$ 2.3 million, representing an increase of 125% over the same period in 2008.
Authorised investment initiatives were related with a variety of sectors such as commerce, energy, forestry, construction and aquaculture. "This shows that different sectors of the national economy are attractive for these types of investments," explained Liliana Macchiavello, executive vice-president of the Foreign Investment Committee, in a press release.
The electricity sector stood out among the investment applications that were approved. Some 15.8% of the authorised investments were concentrated in this area. "That is a good indication for our economy because investment in the electricity sector is closely linked with the country's future economic growth," stated Macchiavello.
Among the electrical projects are initiatives by companies such as the Australian enterprise Pacific Hydro, for US$ 250 million; SN Power Holding Chile, for US$ 150 million; HydroChile for US$ 180 million and Suez for US$ 95 million.
Also significant is the size of the investment by North American giant Wal-Mart, who spent a total of US$ 2.8 billion after acquiring control of D&S, the main supermarket chain in the country.
In addition, investment from the Spanish firm Abertis was authorised. The company expects to spend some 326 million on the acquisition of different inter-city road networks administrated by Rutas del Pacífico and Autopista Central.
In 2008, authorised foreign investment in the country reached nearly US$ 10.5 billion, the largest figure in almost a decade. The investment promotion work of the Chilean Economic Development Agency's (CORFO) InvestChile program has been fundamental. For example, in June, more than a hundred Spanish companies visited Chile to explore business opportunities, which brings the figure to over 350 so far this year. For the rest of the year, CORFO is organising different company exchanges and events to promote Chile as an investment platform for Latin America. These events include: the Renewable Energy Investment Forum (7-8 September), The Forum on the Auxiliary and Supply Industry for the Mining Sector (October), and the Chilean Hispanic Meeting (November), which is led by the High Council of the Chambers of Commerce, together with the Chambers of Madrid, Zaragoza Sevilla, León, Bilbao, Navarra, Valencia and Barcelona.
Source: www.ansa.it