• InvestChile Managing Director Andrés Rodríguez, highlighted that this figure is almost twice the amount of investment received in 2020.

This Monday the Central Bank announced that Chile received close to US$17 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) between January and December 2021, 97% more than in the same period in 2020. This figure is 62% higher than the five-year average and 16% more than the average for the period 2003-2021.

According to the Bank, in December alone US$787 million in FDI entered Chile, driven by shares in equity capital, which had a positive effect of US$1.2 billion. These Central Bank figures are provisional and the institution will review them in March.

InvestChile Managing Director Andrés Rodríguez said that the figures “are excellent news for Chile.” He added that “foreign investment projects take years of planning and go through several stages before being implemented, so what we are seeing is a continuity that has not been interrupted and which is another sign of the confidence international companies have in our country.”

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has forecast growth of 10%-15% in global foreign investment for this year, following the pandemic-induced 40% drop in 2020. “Growth in Chile has far outstripped this estimate, which is highly significant as we enter a year that will see a continuation of the efforts to fully reactivate the economy and employment in our country, tasks in which foreign investment will continue to play an important role.”