• The minister and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency held meetings with more than 50 representatives of companies and local organizations as part of President Gabriel Boric’s tour.

The investment promotion mission headed by Economy Minister Nicolás Grau and organized by InvestChile concluded today in Paris. The mission was part of President Gabriel Boric’s tour of Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and France.

In the company of InvestChile’s investment commissioner in the French capital, Cristián Sagal, minister Grau spoke during the morning with Imerys, a company interested in knowing the progress of the National Lithium Strategy; Hy24, a fund that is following with interest the development and possibilities of green hydrogen in Chile; and InfraVia Capital Partners, a French fund dedicated to investing and supporting companies in the infrastructure and technology sectors.

The minister then traveled to the Elysée Palace to participate with President Boric in a lunch hosted by the French president, Emanuel Macron, and some of his cabinet.

High interest in lithium

In the afternoon, the minister met with Stellantis to discuss the market for lithium batteries and green fuels. The Italian-American-French multinational owns brands such as Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Peugeot and Fiat, and has more than 300,000 employees in 30 countries.

Finally, minister Grau spoke with Eramet, a local company that has expressed concrete interest in developing operations in the Chilean lithium industry. They discussed the status of the National Lithium Strategy and the opportunities it offers for public-private partnership.

In this regard, the minister commented, “we have had a very good day for promoting French foreign investment. The permanent presence of an InvestChile investment commissioner in Paris, Cristián Sagal, and the rolling out of the National Lithium Strategy allow us to have a well-defined and very significant project portfolio in terms of investment amounts.”

An intense agenda in Europe

Minister Grau and InvestChile organized more than 15 business and cooperation events during the presidential tour to Europe. Since last Monday, the agenda in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and France has included contacts with more than 50 business representatives in bilateral meetings with companies and local organizations.

At an aggregate level, the European Union is the main investor in Chile, with a stock worth about US$67 billion. This represents 25% of the investment that has historically entered Chile.