The Diplomat
The Government of Ecuador wants to attract nearly 39 billion dollars (some 39.24 billion euros) in foreign investment by 2025, according to a presentation at the “Ecuador Open for Business” Forum, held yesterday in Madrid.
The forum, which aims to promote, attract and encourage investment in the country, generating new business opportunities, was inaugurated with a video conference speech by the Ecuadorian president, Guillermo Lasso, and was attended by three ministers from his government and numerous Spanish investors.
The meeting comes after the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited Quito at the end of August, where he met with Lasso, pledging to strengthen political, economic and social ties between Spain and Ecuador.
In his message to the forum participants, Guillermo Lasso highlighted the opportunities offered by the Andean country and invited investors to be an active part of Ecuador’s productive transformation. On this point, he pointed out that, during the first half of the year, foreign investment grew by 218% in the country, with 652 million dollars more than in 2021, which is “a reflection of the confidence of investors”.
The opening session of the Forum was also attended by the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries of Ecuador, Julio José Prado, Julio José Prado and, on the Spanish side, by the State Secretary for Trade and President of ICEX, Xiana Méndez; the Vice-President of CEOE, Íñigo Fernández de Mesa; and the Director General of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Inmaculada Riera.
Xiana Méndez, while acknowledging the uncertain global environment, also pointed out that it is “an excellent time” to boost economic relations and promote trade exchanges, investment and technology transfers between the two countries, thus making a qualitative leap forward through “more ambitious” business and investment collaborations.
Likewise, Méndez highlighted Ecuador’s role at international level within the Pacific Alliance, an initiative that has the support of Spain. She also highlighted the investments made by some Ecuadorian companies in Spain, such as Banco Pichincha.
Spain is one of Ecuador’s main trading partners, the first in the European Union. So far in 2022, bilateral trade represents approximately USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1.207 billion). This year, some 2 billion dollars in investment has arrived in Ecuador from Spain. The more than 120 Spanish companies in Ecuador provide the country with more than 20,000 direct jobs.
Ecuador exports to Spain mainly products from the agri-food sector, such as bananas and shrimp, but in recent times other products such as chia, quinoa and pitahaya have also become increasingly important.
On this point, the Ecuadorian Minister of Production, Julio José Prado, indicated that his forecast is that, in the coming months, Spain could compete to become the third most important destination for Ecuadorian exports.
According to Prado, Spain, which is currently the fifth largest export destination, could overtake Russia, with which trade is declining as a result of the war. In this way, Spain could compete with Colombia for third place.
“Given the growth in trade with Spain, I would dare to say that, within the next few months, between now and the end of the year, Spain could undoubtedly overtake Russia, and almost, almost begin to rival Colombia to become the third destination for Ecuador’s individual exports,” the minister reaffirmed.
The Ecuadorian Ministers of Transport and Public Works, Darío Herrera; and of Tourism, Niels Olsen; and several senior officials from other departments, also took part in various round tables throughout the day. The event was also attended by representatives of leading Spanish companies, such as the President of Hispasat, Jordi Hereu; the Global Director of Public Affairs Strategy of Telefónica, Trinidad Jiménez; and the Director of Alliances and Strategic Agreements of Iberia, Víctor Moneo, among others.
The members of the Ecuadorian government highlighted the incentives and benefits offered by their country to investors, such as exemptions from the payment of tariffs on imports of capital goods and raw materials, and the stability of tax incentives during the contract.
On the other hand, they recalled that the country has been recognised for having the highest biodiversity per square kilometre in the world. In the tourism sector, Ecuador has made important investments in roads, connectivity, hydroelectric generation, health and multipurpose projects.
In addition, the country has a system of four international and 18 local airports. Every year, the international ports located in the cities of Manta, Guayaquil, Puerto Bolivar and Esmeraldas are the gateway for the most important cruise lines.
In the energy sector, Ecuador has proposed to generate 93% of its energy from clean and renewable sources, taking advantage of the potential of its water, solar and wind resources; and to gradually phase out the production of polluting energy. They are expected to raise private capital of around $2.2 billion (2.213 billion euros) in non-conventional renewable energy from photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, biomass and other projects.
The mining sector is also one of the pillars of the country, as it has reserves of gold, silver and copper, and is the economic activity that attracted the most international capital in 2020.
