Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

Abstract

The decade ending in 2019 saw the highest ever foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Latin America and the Caribbean, which reached their peak in 2012. Since then, foreign investment inflows have declined steadily, bringing into focus, especially in South American countries, the relationship between FDI flows, the macroeconomic cycle and commodity price cycles in the region. In 2019, Latin America and the Caribbean received US$ 160.721 billion in FDI, 7.8% less than in 2018, a decline that is seen intensifying sharply in 2020 when inflows are forecast to drop by between 45% and 55% as a result of the crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide, the amount of FDI is seen shrinking by 40% in 2020 and by between 5% and 10% in 2021. Thus, FDI would mark in 2021 its lowest value since 2005.