Peru was one of four countries, and the only emerging economy, whose foreign direct investment increased during last year’s global financial crisis, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, or the UNCTD.
Foreign direct investment, which measures foreign ownership of productive assets and is a key component of national development strategies, reached $6.2 billion in Peru in 2009, up 29.1 percent from $4.8 billion in 2008, the state news agency Andina reported. Other countries that had an increase in foreign direct investment in 2009 were Italy at 75.5 percent, Germany at 40.7 percent and Denmark at 3.2 percent.
In Latin America, foreign direct investment decreased by 40.7 percent to $85.5 billion in 2009. The foreign direct investment in the regions two largest economies, Brazil and Mexico, decreased by 49.5 percent and 40.8 percent, respectively. Argentina’s foreign direct investment decreased by 42.7 percent, Chile’s fell by 23 percent, and Colombia’s decreased by 18.6 percent.
According to Peru’s Private Investment Promotion Agency, or ProInversión, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom were Peru’s main sources of foreign direct investment in 2008. That year they made up 58.77 percent of investment stock. Sectors of Peru’s economy with traditionally the largest foreign investment are telecommunications, mining, energy, and finance.
