MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Investment retraction

Argentina and Brazil were the two countries most affected by the retraction of investments in Latinamerica which began in 2001 and extended into the first half of 2002.

According to the World Investment Report 2002 published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, investments in Latinamerica decreased for the second year running in 2001.

In 2001 the region received 85 billion US dollars in foreign investment, an 11% drop from 2000 and a steeper 22% compared to the record year 1999.

The report indicates that "the drop in direct foreign investments affected particularly two of the area's most important recipients, Brazil and Argentina". While in Brazil the important inflow of foreign investments of previous years was interrupted in 2001, in Argentina "inflows were considerable in spite of the three year recession, and became negative in the last quarter of 2001".

"Although only a few international corporations have decided to leave Argentina, most have been reluctant to invest fresh funds in the first half of 2002". Finally the report underlines that the crisis has opened opportunities to acquire "at advantageous prices Argentine corporations undergoing financial difficulties".