The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reports that foreign investment in Latin America and the Caribbean reached a record high in 2007, with capital flow into the region surpassing the US$100 billion mark for the first time ever.
ECLAC attributes the nearly US$106 billion in foreign direct investment to economic growth in the region and sustained global demand for natural resources.
While Brazil received the largest total influx of FDI, with US$34.6 billion, Costa Rica and several other Central American countries were among the leading recipients relative to each nation´s gross domestic product.
While the United States is one of the leading investors in the region (along with the Netherlands and Spain), the superpower´s economic slowdown did not affect the figures for 2007, as its effects were only beginning to be felt by the fourth trimester of the year.
The flow of FDI for 2008 may therefore not equal last year´s record highs, but ECLAC is forecasting 4.7% growth for the region as a whole this year, and 4.5% for Costa Rica.
José Luis Machinea, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, acknowledged that economic woes in the United States are causing global uncertainty, and the expected growth for 2008 has been revised downward from an initial estimate of 4.9% issued in December.
Nonetheless, Machinea described the regional economy as a whole as less vulnerable than in the past.
