The Diplomat
Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Chile are the Ibero-American countries in which most Spanish companies plan to increase their investments this year, according to a report presented yesterday at Casa América.
The 14th Report on Spanish Investment in Ibero-America, developed by IE University, LLorente y Cuenca and Iberia, was presented in the presence of the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and the Caribbean, Juan Fernández-Trigo, and shows that the region is consolidating its position as a destination for investment from our country.
The director of the report, Juan Carlos Martínez Lázaro, pointed out that “77% of Spanish companies present in Ibero-America plan to increase their investments in the region by 2022”. He added that, among SMEs, the percentages are very similar, with 79% of those that will increase their investments in 2022, compared to 18% that will maintain them.
According to those responsible for the study, the perception of Spanish businessmen regarding the economic situation that Ibero-American economies will face is worsening in some countries.
After consulting 106 Spanish companies with investments in Latin America, of which 28 are listed on the stock exchange with a capitalisation of 210,000 million euros, the report concludes that the majority perception is that Panama will be the country with the best economic situation in 2022, followed by Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
The opinion of Colombia’s performance, which was the best in 2020, drops to fifth place, probably due to the uncertainties posed by its electoral process. Mexico is once again the country where most Spanish companies plan to increase their investments in 2022, followed by Peru, Brazil and Chile.
The report also shows that most of the new investments (52%) will be made by combining organic growth with acquisitions, compared to 47% that will be made solely on the basis of organic growth. The percentage is very similar for SMEs, with 50% compared to 49% for large companies.
The 2022 edition confirms the investment trends of Spanish SMEs to invest increasingly in Latin America. 43% of Spanish companies with a presence in Ibero-America expect their turnover in the region to exceed that of Spain within three years. Of these, 86% expect to increase their turnover in the region, surpassing other regions such as the US and Canada (77%) and even the European Union (67%).
