Latin America and the Caribbean received record flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, a United Nations report showed on Monday, mostly into services, manufacturing and energy as spending recovered after the pandemic. The report by the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) found that FDI, or income from cross-border asset purchases, surged 55% from 2021 to hit about US$225 billion last year, the highest level ever recorded. “FDI flows to the region had not surpassed US$200 billion since 2013, so the 2022 recovery marks a major investment milestone for the past decade,” ECLAC said in the report. Brazil, the region’s biggest economy, took the lion’s share of investments at 41%, while Mexico, the second largest, took 17%. Meanwhile, in a shift from 2021, new projects in fossil fuels and the auto sector surpassed those in renewable energy.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald July 12, 2023 01:12 UTC