Companies in Peru’s industrial sector are expected to invest $4.6 billion in 2010, up more than 40% from $3.2 billion invested by the sector last year, state news agency Andina reported Javier Dávila, the head of economic studies at the country’s National Industry Society, as saying.
Dávila said most of the investments will come from companies with connections to construction, metalworking, and food and drinks businesses.
“We are talking about general investment, that is to say we include updating equipment and machinery, building production plants and the expansion of installations,” he said.
“So far in 2010, industries that were hit by the international financial crisis are recuperating employment levels, particularly the jobs that were lost, and they are starting to hire people again.”
However, expenditures by the industrial sector this year are still far short of levels in 2008, when investments totaled $7.8 billion, Dávila said.
Peru’s industrial sector brought in 61 billion soles ($21.5 billion) in 2009, which represented 16 percent of the country’s gross domestic product that year.
