The countries of greatest interest to spanish companies invest in this year 2022 are in first place Mexico, followed by Peru, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, according to the fourteenth Panorama Report on Spanish Investment in Ibero-America.
The 77% of Spanish companies plan to increase their investments in the region Ibero-American in 2022, exhibited the director of the report and professor at IE University, Juan Carlos Martínez Lázaro, during the presentation of the XIV Report 2022 Panorama of Spanish Investment in Ibero-America.
The results of this report were announced at a ceremony at Casa de América, Palacio de Linares, where representatives of large companies such as Llorente & Cuenca, Iberia, CAF (Development Bank of Latin America; IE University, and the Secretary of State for Latin America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Juan Fernández Trigo.
In 2020 the percentage was 65%, so this year it is higher. The report also indicates that 20% of Spanish companies will maintain their investments in the region and only 3% say they will reduce them.
“If we only focus on SMEs, the percentages are very similar. Those that will increase their investments in 2022 are 79%, compared to 18% that will maintain them,” said Martínez Lázaro. He explained how Covid-19 changed everything since March 2020, leaving terrible effects on the region and the largest economic contraction on the planet, a scenario that improved thanks to vaccination and the global recovery in 2021.
held that Despite high inflation and a very complicated social and political climate in several countries in the region, the vast majority of Spanish companies will continue to increase their investments, since they perceive a less bad situation this year than the one they believed there would be in 2020.
“In this sense, 41% of those surveyed think that the world economic situation will positively affect the region and 51% that it will do so negatively, when these percentages were 20% and 67%, respectively, in 2020,” he said. the professor
He emphasized that the less pessimism of the companies could be an indication that although there are still important problems, “the worst could already be over.” Economic growth
Regarding the economic projections, the director of the report stated that Panama will be the country with the best economic situation in 2022followed by Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
Colombia drops to fifth position, Chile improves compared to 2020; there is not a very favorable perception for Brazil and Mexico is very exposed to the change in policy of the United States Federal Reserve (FED), but it will be the one that will benefit the most from the expected growth of the US economy, which makes it the country of greatest interest to Spanish investors.
“Mexico is once again the country in which most Spanish companies plan to increase their investments during 2022followed by Brazil, Chile, Colombia and the Dominican Republic”, assured Martínez Lázaro.
He argued that the companies believe that the turnover of their businesses in Latin America will increase, a perception that is slightly reduced for the United States, Canada and Asia, but increases to 73% for Europe, although with the threat of war in Ukraine.
Companies grow.
52% of the companies will grow in the region organically and through acquisitions. Another 47% will only do so organically.
Outlook.
Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic present the best economic prospects in 2022 according to 106 Spanish CEOs of Spanish companies with investments in Latin America.
SMEs.
SMEs are the engine of Spanish investment in Latin America. 43% of them consider that they will invoice more in the region.