InvestChile portfolio ends 2021 at record level and with 25.1% growth

This is a machine translation of the original InvestChile press release issued in Spanish

InvestChile, the foreign investment promotion agency, closed 2021 with a record amount in its project portfolio, which reached US$27.8bn. The figure is the highest in the five years of the agency's existence and is an increase of 25.1% compared with 2020. The projects managed by the agency, which are in different stages of development, registered the highest number of associated jobs in the last five years, reaching 20,886 potential posts, which is an increase of 25.1% compared with 2020.

The director of InvestChile, Andrés Rodríguez, said this result is a clear sign of the confidence that foreign investors have in our country and of the work that InvestChile has been carrying out to raise the profile of the opportunities that the country offers and support foreign companies that seek to establish themselves in Chile. "This shows the dynamism of foreign investment in our country, especially in sectors of high interest such as energy and technology, and how – despite the pandemic and whatever the situation – there is confidence in our ability to continue growing," said Rodríguez.

At the sector level, the portfolio was once again led by Energy, with 53 projects for US$12.6bn; followed by the Global Services and Technology sectors, with US$5.58bn; and Mining and suppliers with US$4.86bn. Rodríguez explained that Chile has managed to consolidate itself as a destination for investment in the energy sector, especially in clean energy and recently in green hydrogen initiatives, where "Chile has the potential to be the world's leading producer of this fuel and foreign companies know it."

“Another sector where Chile stands out is technology, since in recent years the country has been consolidating itself as a digital hub in the region. Today we have the technological infrastructure of the world's leading companies, and in the coming months we will have new announcements," said the director of InvestChile.

China leads investment

In terms of the main countries present in the project portfolio, the list is headed by China, with US$7.73bn; followed by the United States, with initiatives for US$5.49bn, and Canada, with US$2.63bn. It should be noted that there has been an increase in investment projects from Brazil, which reached US$1.56bn, an increase of 187% compared to the previous year, which makes that economy the main Latin American country present in the portfolio.

For Rodríguez, Chinese investment in Chile is catching up, since it is lagging behind other countries such as the United States, Canada or Spain, which lead investments in terms of stock. “Chinese companies have found important opportunities in Chile, a country that they understand better and better, with investments in sophisticated sectors. A good example is the installation of Sinovac in the country, a process in which InvestChile has played a key role. Surely we will continue to see a significant flow of Chinese investment in the coming years, just as is happening with the United States and other large exporters of capital,” Rodríguez added.

The case of Brazil is also important to highlight, since InvestChile has developed a series of specific investment promotion activities in conjunction with the Chilean embassy in that country, and which have resulted in a 187% growth in the amount of projects from that country. "This speaks of the success of the agency's work in specific markets, and of the importance that as a state we can develop investment attraction programs with a broad perspective," explained Rodríguez.

Among the companies that have projects supported by InvestChile are Amazon Web Services (United States), Sinovac (China), Microsoft (United States), Citibank (United States), China Railway Construction Corporation (China), ODATA (Brazil), Scala Data Center (Brazil).

“Today we are working, together with the ministry of economy, to lay the strategic foundations that allow us to maintain the growth of our portfolio and project it into the future through sectoral plans, with a view to foreign investment playing an important role in closing gaps, developing sectors with potential, and – most importantly – generating concrete benefits for Chileans,” stated Rodríguez.