How industrial park developer FINSA is riding the nearshoring wave

Despite some experts rejecting the idea of nearshoring and denying that such a trend is bringing diversified foreign investment to Mexico, industrial park developer FINSA is confident that the phenomenon will continue to boost its business and soon prompt it to announce the construction of two more industrial parks in the Bajío region and central Mexico. 

“The situation with investors and investments is positive. We're seeing that projects continue to arrive, [companies] are interested in signing [leasing contracts] in the short term and this is a great advantage for us,” Claudio Zambrano, VP of business development & public relations at FINSA told reporters during a tour of the Querétaro III industrial park – in which the company has so far invested approximately US$50mn. 

FINSA has developed 24 industrial parks and manages 3.7Mm² of industrial space. Clients include companies in the automotive, logistics and distribution, electronics, metal-mechanic, healthcare, food and beverage and other segments, data from the industrial park developer show. 

In June, the main negotiator for Mexico in the overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement that led to the signing of the USMCA deal, Kenneth Smith Ramos, told BNamericas that several Chinese companies first analyzed what was going to happen with the June elections in Mexico, then they look at the electoral environment in the United States and what those elections in November indicate in order to make more long-term decisions.

However, FINSA disagrees and indicates that the political scenario in the United States or Mexico is not something that would worry international companies. 

A poll that the company carries out every quarter among 79 clients showed that the political panorama of both countries is not on top of the list of their concerns, Zambrano says. 

“We were very surprised because, from the 79 companies polled in 17 different markets across Mexico, none is worried… Mexico isn't really a risk for them,” he said. “In 2024 we keep receiving demand from investors and everything around the Mexican and American elections doesn't influence it.”

Nevertheless, international companies do seem to be worried about the exchange rate – which has seen a steady Mexican peso appreciation – increased costs, fiscal and labor reforms, availability of labor in the north of the country, tariffs, dumping and other geopolitical and commercial implications of the current global scenario. 

FINSA recently announced the construction of a 79ha industrial park in Monterrey, in Nuevo León state, with capacity to house 20 companies. Moreover, it will soon announce the construction of two more parks in the Bajío region and central Mexico, according to Albertina Leal, VP of communication, image and strategy at FINSA. 

Data from the company shows that the most dynamic markets in the country are located in northern cities like Monterrey, Tijuana, Saltillo, Juárez and Reynosa – some of which have no space or little availability. 

One option, Leal said, is expanding operations to the southeastern region – heavily prioritized during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration – but the plan would take time due to the lack of infrastructure in the area. 

“[The interoceanic corridor] is a project that interests us because we see all the effort that the federal government is putting into developing that area,” Leal said during a press conference, “The supply chains must be developed across the Isthmus region, that can be achievable, but it won’t be a matter of one or two years as was initially said.”

Apart from the 12 industrial parks that are part of the interoceanic corridor, president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum promised to develop 100 more across the country. FINSA says this is an ambitious but realistic goal. 

“Mexico has 32 states so imagine that there are five industrial parks per state, that would be 160, so it’s reasonable,” said FINSA’s director of new business in the Bajío region, Héctor Salas, during the press conference. “We would have to see how large the investments are, it’s a very aggressive goal which implies that the government and the private sector will have to work together. It isn’t outlandish.”