Spain and Latin America: a relationship that adds up to more than 200,000 million euros in investments

First modification: 07/23/2023 – 21:42

The political future of Spain also concerns Latin America, since with the result of the elections not only the interests of Spanish companies are at stake, but also of the so-called multilatinas, which have found a gateway to the European Union in the Iberian country.

“Spanish Foreign Direct Investment reaches 153,408 million euros (January-September 2022), with Mexico and Brazil as major destinations ahead of Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia1”, according to the Institute of Economic Studies of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs.

Spanish investment in Latin America is located in sectors such as finance, telecommunications, energy, oil and gas.

Meanwhile, the investment of multilatina companies in Spain “currently amounts to 63,332 million euros, 12.1% of the Foreign Direct Investment received” adds the union. Thus, the region ranks as the fourth largest investor, behind France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

However, during the pandemic, some Spanish companies chose to divest from Latin America, in the midst of the economic crisis caused by the lockdowns and the suspension of economic activities.

When asked about it, the chief economist of the Spanish bank BBVA, Juan Ruíz, told France 24 that, despite isolated cases, Latin America continues to be profitable for Spanish companies.

At the same time, the analyst considered that regardless of the election results, “investment in Latin America continues to be attractive for Spanish companies, in general terms.”

The links between Spain and Latin America transcend investment. There is also a vigorous commercial exchange in which Latin America exports around 17,000 million euros annually, with a slight advantage over this European country.