Mexico City (EFE).- Latin American investments in Spain grow year after year in search of access to the European market, under the leadership of Mexico and followed by Argentina, with the technological, real estate and financial sectors as the most attractive.
Mainly, Latin American companies have sought to diversify their businesses in Spain due to the depreciation of the euro and government benefits to obtain the so-called “golden visas”, which are granted by investing a minimum of $500,000 in the purchase of a home, for example.
This has prompted the establishment of more than 500 Mexican companies and investments of more than 30,000 million euros (about 33,680 million dollars).
In addition, it was recently mentioned during the Mexico-Spain Binational Meetings, organized in Mexico, that Spain is “a potential platform for attracting investment and a natural destination for Latin American multinationals.”
In this sense, Antonio Basagoiti, president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Mexico (Camescom), has positioned himself to maintain and strengthen the channels of communication and economic linkage.
“Mexican companies are very welcome, they have us as a bridge to diversify towards Europe with their arrival in Spain,” Basagoiti said in a conversation with EFE.
According to information from Camescom’s Internationalization Area, Mexican investments have been focused over the last three years in sectors such as construction, real estate, hotels and finance, most of them concentrated in the Madrid region.
Argentina, the second largest investor
Behind Mexico, Argentina joins the countries with the largest investments in the Iberian country, with investments of more than 9,369 million euros, according to data from the fifth Global LATAM 2022 report prepared by ICEX.
Large multinationals with Argentine capital operate in Spain in technological services, food and the pharmaceutical industry, although in recent years smaller and emerging companies from the technological, logistics and gastronomic sectors have joined.
Most of these companies are grouped in the Argentine-Spanish Association of Entrepreneurs (Asaede), which brings together 284 members.
70% of these participate in the technological and digital sector, while one in 10 companies is dedicated to the commercialization of Argentine products, such as meats or wines, and to the restaurant sector.
“After the pandemic, many Argentine companies were waiting to make the leap in search of new markets,” Gonzalo Szybut, executive director of Asaede, told EFE.
Due to the importance that Argentine technology companies have gained in Barcelona, the General Consulate and Promotion Center of Argentina in that Spanish city launched a technology center a year ago, in which a minimum of 100 Argentine companies participate.
“Barcelona is a platform to reach the different markets of the European Union,” Ezequiel Coppari, deputy Argentine consul in Barcelona, told EFE.
Brazil maintains its investments, but far from its all-time high
The largest economy in Latin America, Brazil, is also positioned among the main investors in Spain, although the volume of its investments remains far from its all-time high five years ago.
Direct Brazilian investments in Spain have fluctuated between 6,240 and 7,132 million euros in the last five years, according to data from the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (ApexBrasil).
Figures still far from the 17,473 million euros reached in 2013.
Brazilian companies focus on sectors such as construction, infrastructure, metallurgy, footwear and also have projects for new facilities (greenfield) in the European country.
It also has a presence in the technology and software development sectors and has also reported mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector.
Meanwhile, Brazil also maintains a close presence in Spain due to the concentration of its exports in raw materials.
In fact, more than 70% of the shipments correspond to crude petroleum, soybean and corn oils, according to data from ApexBrasil, increasing trade towards that country gradually in recent years, with a growth of 17.4% in the last few years. last five years.
Colombia bets less on Spain
Spain is the second country in investment in Colombia, after the United States, with 2,440 million euros in 2022 and a cumulative amount of 25,238 million euros, according to the Bank of the Republic (the country’s monetary authority).
However, Colombian investment in Spain is much lower, last year it was 142.5 million euros and is concentrated in various sectors such as aviation, packaging, food, insurance, services and fashion.
In the first quarter of this year, Colombian capital in Spain totaled 21.9 million euros, behind the investment made by this country in Panama, Chile, the United States and Switzerland, among other countries.
The most relevant Colombian companies with investments in Spain are concentrated in the commerce and services sectors, the main ones being Avianca, Carvajal, Colombina, Empresas Públicas de Medellín, Grupo Sura and the Totto and Studio groups.