MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile: US$4.815 billion foreign investment in 2006

The Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) reported that in 2006 the amount of foreign investment in Chile reached US$4.815 billion, 183 percent higher than in 2005.

The FIC is a government agency that represents Chile before foreign investors and participates in international negotiations. The recent statistics indicate the sectors receiving the most investment from abroad are electricity, gas and water, with US$1.740 billion, mining with US$1.290 billion, services with US$720 million, and transport and communications with US$538 million. Canada made 60.3 percent of investments, followed by the US with 10.7 percent, then Germany with 8.4 percent, Austria with 4 percent, and finally Spain with 3.8 percent of total foreign investment. FIC Vice President Carlos Eduardo Mena said the US$4.815 billion only represents about 70 percent of total foreign investment into Chile. The FIC's figures represent organizations that invested under Chilean Law DL 600. The law provides a framework and security precautions for foreign investment. Mena went on to indicate that much of the growth is due to the many free trade agreements that Chile now has with countries around the world. Chile was ranked as having the freest Latin American economy by the 2005 Index of Economic Freedom, published by the US-based Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. The Santiago Times