Foreign investment in Latin America reached record high

Annual foreign direct investment in Latin America grew by 6.7 per cent to total 173 billion dollars in 2012, a record high, the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), dpa reported. Brazil attracted 65 billion dollars to consolidate its position as the favourite destination for foreign capital in the region. Chile attracted 30 billion dollars and 16 billion dollars went to Colombia. Mexico, which is highly dependent on the United States, got just 12.6 billion dollars, 35 per cent less than it got in 2011. Peru and Argentina were also at that level. "It was a record year even though the world is slowing down," said ECLAC's Executive Secretary Alicia Barcena. The historic influx of foreign direct investment - at a time when this indicator has fallen globally by 13 per cent - rested largely on the increase in capitalizations of Latin American companies. Barcena noted that investment continues to focus on commodities, and she said that 55 per cent of the yields of that investment aresent back to their countries of origin. "We have to evaluate how we can increase reinvestment," she said. The yields of foreign direct investment in Latin America grew from 20 billion dollars in 2002 to 113 billion dollars in 2011, ECLACsaid, and according to Barcena they are expected to remain high inthe coming years. Foreign direct investment in Latin America, which has trebled since 2009, amounted to 3 per cent of the region's GDP, although it topped 6 per cent in countries like Chile, Panama and Peru.