The agency met with over 20 Chinese companies in a webinar in which it reported that, in 2019, its portfolio of Chinese projects – at different stages of development – increased by 167% to US$4,850 million.

Investment opportunities in different sectors, the economic outlook for Chile after the pandemic and details of the government’s reactivation measures were some of the topics covered in the webinar, “Chile: Investment Opportunities for Chinese Companies”, organized by InvestChile. The event was attended by representatives of more than 20 large Chinese companies such as Huawei, Pacific Hydro, Bank of China and China Energy Engineering.

The acting director of InvestChile, Juan Araya, commented that the Chinese investment projects supported by InvestChile reached over US$4,850 million in 2019, which represented an increase of 167% on 2018. Araya pointed out that “the amount reflects not only accelerating Chinese interest in our country – given that, in 2016, our portfolio comprised only five projects for US$310 million – but also the transformation of China into the leading source of capital for our portfolio.”

“Interest has not ceased. Even in the context of the health crisis, five new Chinese projects have been incorporated this year and, today, we are working to support more than 30 projects of Chinese companies,” said Araya. He announced that the agency is preparing “virtual missions” to different countries, including China, in order to inform overseas companies about Chile’s portfolio of public tenders in areas such as 5G and public works.

Large-scale acquisitions

The seminar was attended by Ji Xiaofeng, economic and commercial counselor at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Chile. He pointed out economic ties between the two countries have expanded to investment “and now large-scale acquisitions have become an important point.” He cited as an example the acquisition of Chilquinta for US$2,400 million. “Chinese companies are always very interested and confident in investing in Chile and actively watch for market opportunities,” said Xiaofeng.

Zhang Pu, president of the Chamber of Chinese Companies in Chile, spoke about the organization’s adaptation in the face of the pandemic and stressed that it remained active, holding forums and videoconferences and offering online training. “In the future, as the health situation improves, our Chamber will be working more and playing a more important role in the spirit of building an efficient platform, providing services, strengthening collaboration and achieving a relevant impact,” said Pu.

Speakers in the webinar included Karla Flores, head of strategy and corporate management at InvestChile, who talked about Chile’s post-Covid-19 economic outlook and the fiscal and monetary measures adopted to address the crisis. In addition, Salvatore Di Giovanni, head of investment promotion at InvestChile, presented investment opportunities in different sectors of the Chilean economy and explained the services offered by InvestChile.