InvestChile, the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, highlighted the results of the Milken Institute’s Global Opportunity Index 2021, which positioned Chile as the Latin American country with the greatest potential to attract foreign investors.
“Chile received the highest ranking in the region due to its strong performance across all categories measured, particularly regarding how friendly its institutions are to foreign investors,” stated the California-based institute.
According to the report, Chile showed the best performance in the five categories measured by the Index – business perception, economic fundamentals, financial services, institutional framework, and international standards and policy – and ranked 36th globally. In Latin America, it was followed by Uruguay (48th), Costa Rica (55th), Mexico (64th) and Panama (65th). Sweden led the global ranking, followed by the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The director of InvestChile, Andrés Rodríguez, commented that the results are good news for Chile, particularly given the situation of foreign investment globally. “World foreign direct investment was down by 42% in 2020, so it is important to stay competitive, offer good business opportunities and stand out regionally,” he said.
“Despite the pandemic, InvestChile’s portfolio grew by 23% last year, with a 20% increase in the number of projects, demonstrating the interest of foreign investors in starting operations or expanding their business in Chile. In this process, it is essential that they have a public agency like InvestChile, which assists foreign investors and provides free advice to facilitate their installation and expansion in our country,” added Rodríguez.
The Global Opportunity Index assesses countries’ strengths and challenges according to the support that their institutions and policies provide for foreign investment. The annual ranking uses 96 variables, including a country’s macroeconomic outlook, potential for future innovation and development, access to financial services and compliance with international standards, as the basis for a forward-looking analysis of the potential for foreign investment in 145 countries.
