Foreign direct investment and welfare

Includes bibliography.

Capital Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Developments

For six years, the global economy has been driven by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policies of easy money. Liquidity has flowed from developed to developing economies, financing infrastructure and corporate investment and allowing consumers to indulge in credit-fuelled retail spending. Thus the effective ending of the Fed’s third round of asset purchases (QE3) at the end of October represents both a watershed and the beginning of a new stage in the world economy. The end of asset-purchases comes at a challenging time for emerging markets, with China’s economy slowing, the Euro zone struggling to avoid a recession and the Japanese economy already in recession. The unwinding of the U.S. monetary stimulus, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan step up their monetary stimulus, has underpinned an appreciation by the U.S. dollar, in which most commodities are priced. An appreciated dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive to buyers, thereby creating pressure for sellers to lower their prices. Latin American markets ended the third quarter of 2014 under pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar. In this changing external context, there are many signs that a slowdown in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) financial markets, particularly debt markets, which have been breaking issuance records for the past six years, may slowdown from now on. Commodity prices – including those of oil, base metals and some goods – are in a prolonged slump. The Bloomberg commodity price index, a benchmark of commodity investments, has fallen to a five-year low as China’s economy slows down, and with it the demand for commodities. Investment into the LAC region has decelerated, in large part because of a deceleration of mining investments. Latin American currencies have suffered depreciations, as current account deficits have widening for a number of countries. And LAC companies, having issued record amounts of foreign currency bonds may now struggle to service their debt. In October, credit-rating agency Moody’s downgraded the bonds of Brazil’s Petrobras to tow notches above speculative grade because of the impact of falling oil prices and the weaker real on its debt. Growth prospects look brighter in 2015 relative to 2014, but a strengthening U.S. dollar, uneven global growth and weakness in commodity prices are skewing the risk toward the downside for the 2015 forecasts across the region. The Institute of International Finance expects the strengthening of the dollar to have a divergent impact across the region, however, depending on trade and financial linkages. The Institute of International Finance, Capital Flows to Emerging Markets, October 2, 2014. A stronger dollar lifts U.S. purchasing power, supporting exports, growth and capital inflows in countries with close trade links to the U.S. economy. However, rising dollar financing costs will increase pressure on countries with weak external positions. Given the effects of falling oil prices and a stronger dollar, some companies in the region, having issued record amounts of foreign currency bonds, may now struggle to service their debts. Prospects of Fed rate hikes resulting in tighter global liquidity amid the rapid rise in the corporate external bond stock has indeed raised concerns over some companies. However, there is still a shortage of bonds at a global level and the region still enjoys good economic policy management for the most part, so LAC debt markets may continue to enjoy momentum despite occasional bursts of high volatility – even if not at the record levels of recent years.

O Investimento Estrangeiro Direto na América Latina e Caribe 2015. Documento informativo

Em edições anteriores deste relatório, o ano que figurava no título correspondia àquele para o qual se apresentavam os dados. A partir de agora, e para alinhar-se com os outros relatórios periódicos da CEPAL, o relatório levará no título o ano em que se publica. Isto significa que não existe a edição 2014 desta publicação.

La Inversión Extranjera Directa en América Latina y el Caribe 2015

En ediciones anteriores de este informe, el año que figuraba en el título correspondía a aquel para el que se presentaban los datos. A partir de ahora, y para alinearse con el resto de los informes periódicos de la CEPAL, el informe llevará en el título el año en el que se publica. Esto significa que no existe la edición 2014 de esta publicación.

La inversión colombiana en Centroamérica

Este documento tiene como objetivo principal analizar las estrategias empresariales que han favorecido el aumento de la inversión extranjera directa (IED) colombiana en los países centroamericanos. Provee un marco teórico para el estudio de los determinantes de la IED, hace una revisión de su dinámica y brinda un marco conceptual que permite identificar, clasificar y analizar los flujos de inversión de Colombia a cada uno de los países centroamericanos.

Determinantes de la salida de IED y efectos en el país emisor: evidencia de América Latina

Desde el inicio de los años 2000, la inversión extranjera directa (IED) realizada por compañías latinoamericanas viene creciendo de manera pronunciada. Si bien la mayoría de los flujos de inversiones corresponden a empresas radicadas en las grandes economías (Argentina, Brasil, Chile, México y Colombia), las pequeñas economías también han sido testigos de la creciente internacionalización de sus empresas locales. Este documento tiene dos aportes principales. En primer lugar, se analizan las estrategias adoptadas por las empresas multinacionales de América Latina cuando deciden invertir en otros países, y se hace hincapié en las diferencias detectadas según el sector y el tamaño del país de origen. Con este objeto, se creó una nueva base de datos, que contiene información cuantitativa acerca de las principales operaciones llevadas a cabo en el extranjero por las empresas latinoamericanas (tanto la inversión en nuevas plantas como las fusiones y adquisiciones), sobre la base del banco de datos fDi Markets y la información de Thomson Reuters Datastream. En segundo lugar, se examinan los efectos que tiene en el país emisor la salida de IED mediante el estudio de un caso correspondiente a Costa Rica, por medio de una muestra representativa de empresas que invierten en otros países.

La Inversión Extranjera Directa en América Latina y el Caribe 2016

El presente informe La Inversión Extranjera Directa en América Latina y el Caribe es la edición correspondiente a 2016 de la serie anual que publica la Unidad de Inversiones y Estrategias Empresariales de la División de Desarrollo Productivo y Empresarial de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).

O Investimento Estrangeiro Direto na América Latina e no Caribe 2016. Documento informativo

O presente relatório, O Investimento Estrangeiro Direto na América Latina e no Caribe, é a edição correspondente a 2016 da série anual publicada pela Unidade de Investimentos e Estratégias Empresariais da Divisão de Desenvolvimento Produtivo e Empresarial da Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL).