• InvestChile Managing Director Andrés Rodríguez says the figures reveal that foreign investment in Chile continues to be active and will be key to post-pandemic economic recovery. 

Chile received US$16 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) flows between January and August 2021, according to provisional figures released today by Chile’s Central Bank. This figure is 73% higher than the US$9.3 billion figure for the same period in 2020, 75% greater than the average for the last five years and 71% higher than the average for the period since comparable figures have been kept (2003-2021). 

In August, FDI flows totaled US$1.3 billion. 

The most significant components of the FDI flows were shares in equity capital of US$8.3 billion; followed by reinvested earnings of US$6.6 billion and finally debt instruments of US$1.2 billion. 

InvestChile Managing Director Andrés Rodríguez welcomed the figures, saying they reveal that foreign investment in Chile continues to be active in a scenario where Chile and the world are gradually returning to normal levels of activity. He added that investment flows are dynamic and there is no guarantee that the upward trend will continue for the rest of the year.  

“The figures we’re seeing today are the results of the sustained work Chile has undertaken in recent years to attract foreign investment. Investors don’t take decisions from one day to the next; projects are studied and can take years to be implemented. At InvestChile, we’re working hard to ensure Chile remains a reliable, profitable alternative with good prospects for growth in the future,” Rodríguez said.  

In addition to generating greater competence and bringing a higher level of sophistication to domestic products and services, foreign investment is central to reactivating the economy and generating jobs, which are both fundamental to our post-pandemic economic recovery,” he added.  

The Managing Director of InvestChile is currently in the United States, where he is meeting with technology companies like SpaceX, Amazon Web Services (AWS), EdgeConneX, Netflix and Evernote, to name just a few, with a view to exploring opportunities and speeding up their investment decision making. In November, InvestChile will visit Asia (Japan and South Korea) together with Energy Minister Juan Carlos Jobet to promote opportunities for investing in green hydrogen.