• Of the US$56,235 million in the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency’s portfolio, 88% went to projects outside the Metropolitan Region (US$49,468 million).

InvestChile, Chile’s foreign investment promotion agency, closed its 2024 project portfolio with a record US$56,235 million, led by regional projects. Of this total, 88% went to projects outside the Metropolitan Region (US$49,468 million).

Antofagasta headed up the list with a total of US$23,716 million, followed by the Magallanes Region with US$12,514 million and the Metropolitan Region with US$7,754 million.

In terms of number of projects, the Metropolitan Region led the portfolio with 186 investment projects, while Antofagasta registered 64 and Valparaíso 26.

On a national level, nine of the country’s sixteen regions had more than US$1 billion in foreign investment projects at different stages of development. In addition, five regions exceeded US$5 billion in projects.

The potential for direct employment was concentrated in the Metropolitan Region with 7,433 jobs, followed by Valparaíso with 2,544 jobs and Atacama with 2,473 potential jobs, directly and permanently associated with foreign investment projects.

Impacts of FDI

InvestChile Director, Karla Flores, stressed the importance of foreign investment in the country, not only as an engine of growth and economic dynamism, but also for its positive impact on quality job creation, strengthening local SMEs, incorporating best practices and new technologies, and creating benefits in the communities.

“Foreign investment can be a key tool for the development of regions, not only directly, but also with the active participation of foreign companies in the local economy, injecting technology, good practices and providing opportunities to strengthen local talent. In concrete terms, this means more and better jobs for people in regions and more business for local SME suppliers,” said Flores.

InvestChile: Regional focus

With an aim to contribute to the promotion of regional development through foreign investment, InvestChile has strengthened its capabilities to implement a capital attraction policy that aligns with the economic challenges of each territory. For the first time since the creation of the agency in 2016, it has established a systematic, coordinated strategy with regional governments, with a view to consolidating foreign investment as a key economic policy tool.

“The objective is to attract foreign investment in high-impact strategic sectors that are in line with the development objectives of each region. To achieve this, we have formalized collaboration agreements with regional governments, establishing concrete cooperation terms to attract foreign investment in regions,” said Karla Flores, InvestChile Director.

To date, the agency has signed collaboration agreements with seven regions in the country: Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá, Maule, Ñuble, Los Ríos, Aysén and Magallanes, and it expects to expand this effort to more territories in 2025.