• The tour, led by the Public Works Minister, Jessica López, along with the InvestChile Director, Karla Flores, and the Concession General Director, Juan Manuel Sánchez, will visit Japan and Korea.

In Tokyo, Japan, the roadshow organized by InvestChile began this week to promote the MOP’s Concession portfolio to Asian infrastructure companies, with projects that exceed US$17 billion in the upcoming years. The tour, which will last until Friday and includes more than twenty meetings and activities, will visit Seoul as its second stop.

Today, the Chilean delegation, headed by the Public Works Minister, Jessica López, with the participation of the InvestChile Director, Karla Flores, and the Concession General Director, Juan Manuel Sánchez, participated in an investment seminar organized jointly with the Japan Institute for Overseas Investment (JOI), which was attended by more than 40 representatives of local companies. The authorities also held more than ten meetings over two days, where they discussed details of the concession portfolio as well as the operations in Chile of large Japanese multinationals such as Mitsui, IHI, Marubeni and Sojitz.

Minister López valued the agenda developed and commented that “we have completed two intense days of meetings with Japanese companies and ministries, and we have also held a seminar to publicize our public infrastructure concession program and invite companies to participate in it. We have had a very good reception that we hope will materialize soon.”

Karla Flores, InvestChile Director, emphasized that “it has been a very valuable visit, with more than ten business meetings with different Japanese investors from the world of infrastructure, but also with very relevant trade associations on issues such as the promotion of infrastructure development abroad, water treatment and desalination, which are important for the water crisis challenges we are facing.” She also highlighted the seminar held today as an opportunity “to show the different investors and multipliers how our Concession system works and invite them to continue exploring this portfolio.”

The Concessions portfolio of the Public Works Ministry has almost 3 thousand annual projects throughout the country, for a total of close to US$4 billion. In addition, there is a portfolio of more than US$10 billion for public-private partnership (PPP) projects scheduled for the next few years. These projects include a train that will connect Santiago and Valparaíso, cable cars in several of the country’s cities, and a high-level upgrade of Route 5, the main highway that crosses Chile from north to south.

Meetings with ministries and associations

As part of the agenda, developed with the support of the Chilean Embassy in Japan, the delegation also met with the State Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, Konosuke Kokuba, and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yoshifumi Tsuge. Both State Secretaries addressed the need to deepen bilateral relations between the two countries on issues such as natural disaster prevention and resilient infrastructure in the context of climate change, and to discuss recovery and reconstruction policies implemented in Japan.

The delegation, which also included the Chilean Ambassador to Japan, Ricardo Rojas; the Counsellor for Investment Affairs, Vicente Pinto; the Head of the Legal Division of Concessions, Patricia Vásquez; and InvestChile’s International Network Officer, Catalina Pérez, met with representatives of the Infrastructure Development Institute, the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development, and discussed the opportunities offered by desalination with representatives of the Japan Desalination Association (JDA) and the Water Reuse Promotion Center (WRPC).

Japan, leader in Asian investment

Japan has an investment stock in Chile of US$4.1 billion, which represents 44% of the total investment from Asia registered by the Central Bank. Japanese companies have a relevant participation in sectors such as energy, mining, global services and the food industry. It is also an important investor in terms of InvestChile’s portfolio: the agency is currently supporting 14 projects from Japanese companies for more than US$1.3 billion. The roadshow to promote the Concessions portfolio will continue this Wednesday in Seoul, with a full schedule of activities.