The issues addressed in the Report prepared by the Chilean-British Chamber of Commerce include Chile’s new foreign investment statute.

At a well-attended breakfast this morning, the Chilean-British Chamber of Commerce (Britcham) launched its Chilean Legal Report 2015. This fifth version of the Report, targeting the Chamber’s business community, provides information about the principal innovations in Chile’s legal framework.

In his opening remarks, Ignacio Saavedra, president of Britcham’s Legal Committee, thanked the law firms which participated in the Report’s preparation for their collaboration. In addition, he announced that, in 2016, the Chamber will update its Doing Business in Chile publication, a guide that covers different matters of interest to foreign investors.

Liliana Macchiavello, general counsel at the Foreign Investment Committee (CIEChile), was the principal speaker at the breakfast and talked about the New Foreign Investment Framework Law. Emphasizing the importance for Chile of seeking to attract more and better investment, she indicated that this will be the role of the Investment Promotion Agency which is currently in the process of implementation. “As a country we cannot wait for the investor to find a good business; we need to be proactive in this field,” she said.

Macchiavello also indicated that “the new Agency will seek to attract the right investor and will then provide a series of support services from the stage when the interest is detected through to the start of operations in Chile and will then remain in contact and promote reinvestment.”

Greg Holland, Britcham’s general manager, spoke about the international economic outlook and the challenge of continuing to attract British investment in Chile, indicating that it is precisely now when it is necessary to foster diversification of the sectors in which overseas companies invest. In this context, he highlighted the arrival of companies in the health and insurance sectors.