La inversi\u00f3n extranjera directa (IED) ha sido un elemento crucial del \u00e9xito ec\u00f3nomico de Chile, aumentando continuamente. (Ver gr\u00e1fico 1) Durante la d\u00e9cada comprendida entre los a\u00f1os 2003 y 2013, esta inversi\u00f3n se cuadruplic\u00f3 desde US$ 4.300 millones en 2003 hasta US$ 20.300 millones el a\u00f1o pasado. Las inversiones estadounidenses en Chile han sido parte importante de esa historia. Entre los a\u00f1os 1974 y 2012, compa\u00f1\u00edas estadounidenses invirtieron US$ 23.000 millones en Chile, m\u00e1s de un cuarto del total de las inversiones locales. Entre 2009 y 2013, las empresas americanas representaron 16,7% del total de IED en Chile. (Ver gr\u00e1fico 2) Al compararlo con sus vecinos de Am\u00e9rica Latina, Chile recibe bastante m\u00e1s IED de lo que le corresponder\u00eda a una econom\u00eda de su tama\u00f1o. Recibe m\u00e1s que Argentina y Colombia e, incluso, en muchos a\u00f1os m\u00e1s que M\u00e9xico, una econom\u00eda cinco veces el tama\u00f1o de la chilena.<\/p>\n
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Pero el auge de la IED parece haber tocado techo en 2012, cuando la inversi\u00f3n extranjera en Chile alcanz\u00f3 un r\u00e9cord de US$ 28.600 millones, equivalente a 10,7% de su PIB. Desde entonces, ha ca\u00eddo. El a\u00f1o pasado disminuy\u00f3 29%, seg\u00fan el Banco Central de Chile. \u00c9sa fue la mayor ca\u00edda anual en m\u00e1s de una d\u00e9cada y la m\u00e1s aguda en toda Sudam\u00e9rica, seg\u00fan la Comisi\u00f3n Econ\u00f3mica de las Naciones Unidas para Am\u00e9rica Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).<\/p>\n
Este a\u00f1o no ha sido mucho mejor. La CEPAL dice que la IED en Chile cay\u00f3 16% durante los primeros ocho meses del a\u00f1o, aunque el Comit\u00e9 de Inversi\u00f3n Extranjera (CIE), que monitorea la IED, asegura que se ha recuperado desde entonces. Todas estas cifras hay que tomarlas con cautela. La IED es notoriamente vol\u00e1til, ya que una sola gran inversi\u00f3n puede tener un enorme impacto en las cifras globales.<\/p>\n
En Chile este a\u00f1o, por ejemplo, la compa\u00f1\u00eda espa\u00f1ola Gas Natural est\u00e1 finalizando la adquisici\u00f3n de la chilena, CGE, por un monto de US$ 3.300 millones y la compa\u00f1\u00eda Abbott Laboratories de Estados Unidos ya complet\u00f3 la compra por US$ 2.900 millones de CFR Pharmaceuticals. Solo esas dos adquisiciones har\u00e1n bastante para reforzar las cifras de IED de Chile para el a\u00f1o 2014 y as\u00ed salvar lo que, de lo contrario, podr\u00eda haber sido un a\u00f1o decepcionante.<\/p>\n
Para obtener una imagen fidedigna de la IED, entonces, debemos mirar las tendencias a m\u00e1s largo plazo. Pero, incluso entonces, las se\u00f1ales no son alentadoras. La CEPAL proyecta que la IED en Am\u00e9rica Latina este a\u00f1o disminuir\u00e1 entre 5-6%, y Chile no saldr\u00e1 ileso.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDespu\u00e9s de a\u00f1os de un fuerte crecimiento, la IED en la regi\u00f3n ha alcanzado un plateau y la tendencia puede, incluso, ser ligeramente negativa\u201d, dice Giovanni Stumpo, jefe de la Unidad de Inversiones y Estrategias Corporativas de la CEPAL. \u201cNada dram\u00e1tico -no un derrumbe-, pero una leve ca\u00edda de los niveles m\u00e1ximos que vimos en 2012\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u00bfCulpa del cobre?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00bfQu\u00e9 es entonces lo que ha salido mal -de haberlo-? \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 pareciera que la IED ha perdido fuerza?<\/p>\n En Chile, una de las razones es claramente la disminuci\u00f3n del precio del cobre, que ha ca\u00eddo m\u00e1s de 20% desde su punto m\u00e1ximo en 2011. Esto, inevitablemente, ha afectado la inversi\u00f3n en miner\u00eda. \u201cLa estructura de costos de la miner\u00eda chilena es menos competitiva que en el pasado debido a los elevados costos de energ\u00eda y de mano de obra, adem\u00e1s de la disminuci\u00f3n de la ley del mineral\u201d, dice Kathleen Barclay, presidenta de la C\u00e1mara Chileno Norteamericana de Comercio, Amcham. Entre las empresas que est\u00e1n reduciendo sus operaciones chilenas est\u00e1 la minera estadounidense Freeport McMoran, que recientemente vendi\u00f3 sus participaciones controladoras en las minas Candelaria y Ojos Del Salado a Lundin Mining de Canad\u00e1.<\/p>\n El Gobierno chileno dice que espera inversiones del orden de los US$ 105.000 millones en el sector minero entre este a\u00f1o y 2025, pero la realidad es que es posible que muchos de esos proyectos nunca vean la luz del d\u00eda. El Consejo Minero de Chile entrega estimaciones m\u00e1s realistas al decir que se han aprobado y se est\u00e1n materializando inversiones por US$ 16.400 millones y que otros US$ 47.500 millones est\u00e1n a\u00fan en su etapa de evaluaci\u00f3n. Gran parte de ese dinero es capital extranjero.<\/p>\n R\u00e1faga de reformas<\/strong><\/p>\n Para muchos empresarios no es solamente al precio del cobre al que hay que culpar por la desaceleraci\u00f3n de la IED en Chile. Tambi\u00e9n apuntan con el dedo hacia el ambicioso programa de reformas del Gobierno.<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Santa Cruz, presidente de la Confederaci\u00f3n de la Producci\u00f3n y del Comercio (CPC), dice que la cantidad de reformas y el solo hecho de que el Gobierno est\u00e9 tratando de implementarlas todas simult\u00e1neamente ha generado \u201cun escenario complejo y quiz\u00e1s confuso para algunos inversionistas extranjeros\u201d.<\/p>\n Kathleen Barclay de Amcham est\u00e1 de acuerdo con lo anterior. \u201cEst\u00e1n cambiando muchas variables al mismo tiempo… Est\u00e1 la reforma tributaria y la reforma laboral, entre otras\u201d, sostiene. Agrega, \u201cas\u00ed, las empresas estadounidenses se plantean un mont\u00f3n de preguntas sobre la cantidad y la velocidad de todos estos cambios y de c\u00f3mo operar\u00e1n en conjunto. Son preguntas que necesitan respuestas claras\u201d.<\/p>\n Alejandro Werner, director del Departamento del Hemisferio Occidental del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI), dice que con tanto en juego los potenciales inversionistas extranjeros podr\u00edan adoptar \u201cuna actitud de esperar y ver, hasta conocer cu\u00e1les son las nuevas reglas del juego\u201d.<\/p>\n Pero Jorge Pizarro, vicepresidente ejecutivo del CIE, niega que la pol\u00edtica gubernamental y en particular la reforma fiscal hayan tenido un impacto negativo sobre la IED. \u201cNo hemos observado un impacto de la reforma\u2026 y esto no es ret\u00f3rico\u201d, dice. \u201cEstamos en contacto permanente con compa\u00f1\u00edas de todos los tama\u00f1os, tanto en Chile como en el extranjero, y la confianza y el inter\u00e9s por las oportunidades que ofrece Chile siguen intactos\u201d.<\/p>\n El t\u00e9rmino del D.L. 600<\/strong><\/p>\n Una potencial preocupaci\u00f3n para los inversionistas extranjeros es la propuesta del Gobierno para derogar el Decreto Ley 600, que fue introducido en 1974 para fomentar la IED.<\/p>\n Bachelet dice que hoy en d\u00eda las garant\u00edas que esta ley ofrece est\u00e1n consagradas en otros lugares de la legislaci\u00f3n chilena y que, por lo tanto, el D.L. 600 es obsoleto. Ella planea derogarlo hacia finales de 2015. Pizarro dice que las empresas extranjeras no deber\u00edan estar preocupadas por esto.<\/p>\n En primer lugar, se\u00f1ala, se respetar\u00e1n todos los contratos D.L. 600 firmados antes de fines de 2015 y, en segundo lugar, las empresas tendr\u00e1n todav\u00eda la posibilidad de invertir v\u00eda Cap\u00edtulo XIV del Compendio de Normas de Cambios Internacionales del Banco Central, un instrumento alternativo para la IED. \u201cNo olvides que desde hace ya varios a\u00f1os, la mayor parte de la inversi\u00f3n extranjera directa en Chile se ha materializado por la v\u00eda del Cap\u00edtulo XIV, no del D.L. 600\u201d, se\u00f1ala. (Ver gr\u00e1fico 3)<\/p>\n Finalmente, Pizarro indica que el Gobierno va a reemplazar el D.L. 600 con algo mejor, una nueva institucionalidad para la IED. \u201cEl D.L. 600 es s\u00f3lo un mecanismo\u201d, sostiene. \u201cLo que necesitamos va mucho m\u00e1s all\u00e1, y tiene que ver con ponernos al d\u00eda, con una estrategia pa\u00eds, y una agencia de atracci\u00f3n de inversiones de clase mundial\u201d.<\/p>\n El Gobierno ha creado una comisi\u00f3n para dise\u00f1ar esta nueva institucionalidad. Actualmente, dicha comisi\u00f3n est\u00e1 trabajando con la Organizaci\u00f3n para la Cooperaci\u00f3n y el Desarrollo Econ\u00f3micos (OCDE) y con el sector privado chileno, y tiene previsto entregar sus conclusiones en enero pr\u00f3ximo.<\/p>\n Alejandro Werner Andr\u00e9s Santa Cruz. Giovanni Stumpo.<\/p>\n Mike Garland.<\/p>\n Energ\u00eda y pensiones<\/strong><\/p>\n A pesar de la disminuci\u00f3n de la IED a partir de 2012, algunos sectores todav\u00eda est\u00e1n atrayendo importantes inversiones desde el exterior, gran parte de ellas provienen de Estados Unidos. El sector de energ\u00edas renovables es uno de ellos. SunEdison de California ya ha construido dos parques solares en el Desierto de Atacama, mientras Chile Solar de Arizona est\u00e1 levantando otro cerca de Copiap\u00f3. Pattern Energy, con sede en San Francisco, construy\u00f3 el parque e\u00f3lico m\u00e1s grande de Chile y ahora se est\u00e1 embarcando en su primer proyecto solar chileno cerca de Taltal.<\/p>\n \u201cChile es un gran mercado debido al fuerte apoyo de la Presidenta para proyectos de energ\u00eda renovable\u201d, dice el CEO de Pattern Energy, Mike Garland. \u201cTambi\u00e9n nos atrae Chile porque su econom\u00eda es estable y s\u00f3lida, y porque la estructura de precios de la electricidad est\u00e1 expresada en d\u00f3lares estadounidenses\u201d.<\/p>\n La otra gran \u00e1rea de inversiones estadounidenses en Chile es la de los servicios financieros. En 2013, la compa\u00f1\u00eda de seguros de vida estadounidense MetLife adquiri\u00f3 la administradora de fondos de pensi\u00f3n chilena AFP Provida, mientras que Principal Financial Group adquiri\u00f3 Cuprum. Por otra parte, Prudential, tambi\u00e9n estadounidense, est\u00e1 tramitando la adquisici\u00f3n de 40% de una tercera administradora de fondos de pensi\u00f3n chilena, Habitat.<\/p>\n \u201c\u00c9stas son inversiones multimillonarias en \u00e1reas en las que empresas estadounidenses poseen tecnolog\u00eda y buenas pr\u00e1cticas que puede ayudar a que Chile sea m\u00e1s competitivo\u201d, dice Barclay.<\/p>\n Pero estos acuerdos tambi\u00e9n plantean una interrogante: si Chile es tan atractivo, entonces \u00bfpor qu\u00e9 hay empresas chilenas que se salen de sus negocios vendi\u00e9ndolos a empresas estadounidenses? \u201cQuiz\u00e1s los locales est\u00e9n buscando diversificarse o quiz\u00e1s no est\u00e1n tan optimistas respecto de Chile\u201d, dice Barclay.<\/p>\n \u201cEs demasiado pronto para decirlo, pero en mi mente surgen preguntas. A la larga, realmente necesitas a los jugadores locales para estar seguro acerca de su mercado dom\u00e9stico\u201d.<\/p>\n \u00bfQu\u00e9 se debe hacer?<\/strong><\/p>\n Por consiguiente, \u00bfqu\u00e9 se puede hacer para reactivar la IED en Chile, aparte de simplemente esperar un repunte en el precio del cobre? Una parte de esta respuesta se encuentra claramente en manos de la comisi\u00f3n creada por el Gobierno.<\/p>\n Para los inversionistas estadounidenses, un acuerdo para evitar la doble tributaci\u00f3n con Chile ser\u00eda de gran ayuda. Ambos pa\u00edses ya han firmado uno que a\u00fan no ha sido ratificado.<\/p>\n Para Giovanni Stumpo, de la CEPAL, la clave radica en la diversificaci\u00f3n: \u201cel problema de Chile es que su IED est\u00e1 todav\u00eda limitada a muy pocos sectores\u201d. Agrega, \u201chay que identificar sectores con potencial y luego dise\u00f1ar un plan industrial adaptado a sus necesidades espec\u00edficas. Contin\u00faa: \u201cno todos los pa\u00edses del mundo pueden producir sat\u00e9lites o tel\u00e9fonos m\u00f3viles, pero cada pa\u00eds puede hacer algo que no est\u00e9 haciendo actualmente. El desaf\u00edo es dilucidar qu\u00e9 podr\u00eda ser ese algo\u201d.<\/p>\n El Comit\u00e9 de Inversi\u00f3n Extranjera (CIE) est\u00e1 haciendo lo suyo al promover a Chile como receptor de inversi\u00f3n extranjera. Pizarro dice que tienen eventos planificados en 16 pa\u00edses durante los pr\u00f3ximos meses y que ser\u00e1n los anfitriones de un foro internacional sobre IED en enero.<\/p>\n Y, no obtante la desaceleraci\u00f3n de los \u00faltimos dos a\u00f1os, casi todos est\u00e1n de acuerdo de que las s\u00f3lidas bases de Chile aseguran que continuar\u00e1 atrayendo inversiones desde el extranjero. \u201cDe haber cambiado la percepci\u00f3n de Chile, dicho cambio ser\u00eda tan s\u00f3lo marginal\u201d dice Werner del FMI. \u201cTodav\u00eda se ve al pa\u00eds como un modelo para los pa\u00edses de Am\u00e9rica Latina en t\u00e9rminos de su gesti\u00f3n econ\u00f3mica\u201d.<\/p>\n Barclay de Amcham est\u00e1 de acuerdo en incluir \u201cla fortaleza del marco institucional\u201d, el cual es clave para los inversionistas extranjeros.<\/p>\n Santa Cruz de la CPC dice que a pesar de las preocupaciones sobre el programa de reformas del Gobierno, la \u201cvocaci\u00f3n primordial\u201d de Chile como pa\u00eds abierto al comercio de libre mercado \u201csigue intacta\u201d.<\/p>\n Mientras ese siga siendo el caso, Chile seguir\u00e1 atrayendo capital extranjero, aunque no sea en las cantidades r\u00e9cord vistas en 2012.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On her recent trips to the United States, Germany, Spain and China, Chile\u2019s president Michelle Bachelet was at pains to point out that Chile remains a fabulous place in which to invest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are great opportunities for Spanish investments,\u201d she told business leaders in Madrid. \u201cWe want to reiterate our invitation to invest in Chile,\u201d she told their counterparts in Cologne.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Government officials have repeated such phrases like mantras.But the very fact that they feel the need to do so suggests that something might be awry.<\/span><\/p>\n For years, Chileansknewtheir country was the best in Latin America for foreign investors, with strong institutions, independent central banking and sound macro-economic management.<\/span><\/p>\n But that certainty is being challenged. A fall in the price of copper and unease over the government\u2019s ambitious reform program have left some people asking whether Chile is as attractive for foreign capital as it once was.<\/span><\/p>\n Other countries in the region such as Peru and Colombia are attracting interest from abroad. So, is Chile in danger of surrendering its position as arguably the best place in Latin America for foreign direct investment (FDI)?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fourfold Increase<\/strong><\/p>\n FDI has been a key part of Chile\u2019s economic success, rising steadily both in nominal terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).(See graph no.1).\u00a0In the decade between 2003 and 2013, it grew nearly fourfold, from US$4.300 million in 2003 to US$20.300 million last year. Money has poured into the mining, energy, financial services and other sectors.<\/span><\/p>\n Graph no.1 Source: Banco Central de Chile.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n U.S. investment in Chile has been a big part of that story.\u00a0<\/span>Between 1974 and 2012, U.S. companies invested US$23.000 million in Chile, more than a quarter of the Chilean total. Between 2009 and 2012, American firms accounted for 16.7% of FDI in Chile, second only to Spanish companies (see graph no. 2).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Compared to its Latin American neighbours, Chile punches well above its weight as a recipient of FDI. It receives more than Argentina and Colombia, both of which boast larger economies. It regularly receives more than Mexico, with an economy five times bigger than Chile\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But the FDI boom appears to have peaked in 2012, when foreign investment into Chile hit a record US$28.600 million or 10.7% of GDP.<\/p>\n Last year, it dropped 29%, according to the central bank. That was the biggest year-on-year fall in over a decade and the sharpest anywhere in South America, according to the United Nations\u2019 Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This year has not been much better. ECLAC says FDI into Chile dropped 16% in the first eight months of the year, although the state\u2019s Foreign Investment Committee (FIC), which monitors FDI, insists it has picked up since then.\u00a0A<\/span>ll these figures have to be taken with a good pinch of salt. FDI is notoriously volatile because one single, big investment can have a huge impact on the figures.<\/span><\/p>\n Something similar is happening in Chile, where Spain\u2019s Gas Natural is completing the purchase of Chile\u2019s CGE for US$3.300 million and U.S. company Abbott Laboratories has just completed the US$2.900 million acquisition of CFR Pharmaceuticals. Those deals will do a lot to bolster Chile\u2019s FDI figures for 2014 and salvage what might otherwise have been a disappointing year.<\/span><\/p>\n To get a true picture of FDI, then, you have to look at longer term trends. But even then, the signs are not encouraging. ECLAC expects FDI into Latin America to drop about 5-6% this year, and Chile will not escape unscathed.<\/span><\/p>\n Graph no.2 Souce: Banco Central de Chile.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAfter years of strong growth, FDI in the region has reached a plateau and the trend may even by slightly negative,\u201d says Giovanni Stumpo, head of ECLAC\u2019s Unit of Investment and Corporate Strategies. \u201cNothing dramatic \u2013 not a collapse \u2013 but a slight fall from the highs we saw in 2012.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Is copper to Blame?<\/strong><\/p>\n So what, if anything, has gone wrong? Why does FDI appear to have run out of steam?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In Chile, one reason is clearly the decline in the price of copper, which has fallen by over 20% since its peak in 2011. That has inevitably hit investment in mining.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cChile\u2019s mining cost structure is less competitive than in the past, due to high energy and labour costs and declining ore grades,\u201d says Kathleen Barclay, president of Amcham.<\/span><\/p>\n Among the companies scaling back their Chilean operations is U.S. miner Freeport McMoran, which recently sold its controlling stakes in the Candelaria and Ojos Del Salado mines to Canada\u2019s Lundin Mining.<\/span><\/p>\n The Chilean government says it expects investments of US$105.000 million in the mining sector between now and 2025 but the reality is that many of those projects may never see the light of day.<\/span><\/p>\n Chile\u2019s Mining Council provides more realistic estimates, saying that US$16.400 million-worth of investments have been approved and are being implemented, while a further US$47.500 million are at the evaluation stage. Much of that money is foreign capital.<\/span><\/p>\n Raft of Reformas<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For many people in business, it is not just the lower copper price that is to blame for the slowdown in FDI in Chile. They point the finger at the government\u2019s ambitious reform program too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Santa Cruz, president of the Confederation for Production and Commerce (CPC), says the sheer number of reforms and the fact that the government is trying to implement them all at once has created \u201ca complex and perhaps confusing picture for some foreign investors\u201d.<\/p>\n Amcham\u2019s Barclay agrees.<\/span>\u201cThey\u2019re changing many variables at the same time,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s the tax reform and the labor reform, among others.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSo, U.S. companies have a lot of questions about the number and speed of all these changes and how they will all work together. They are questions that need clear answers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Alejandro Werner, Director of the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says that with so much in flux, potential foreign investors might adopt \u201ca wait-and-see attitude, to see what the new rules of the game are\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n But Jorge Pizarro, executive vice-president of the FIC, denies that government policy, and in particular the tax reform, has had a negative impact on FDI.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen any impact, and that\u2019s not just rhetoric,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re in permanent contact with companies of all sizes, both in Chile and abroad, and the confidence and interest in the opportunities that Chile offers remains the same.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The end of D.L 600\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n One potential concern for foreign investors is the government\u2019s proposal to abolish Decree Law 600, which was introduced in 1974 to encourage FDI.\u00a0It gives foreign investors guaranteed access to Chile’s capital markets, remittance benefits, and legal protection in the event of disputes.<\/span><\/p>\n Bachelet says that these days such guarantees are enshrined elsewhere in Chilean legislation and that D.L. 600 is therefore redundant. She plans to scrap it at the end of 2015.\u00a0<\/span>Pizarro says foreign companies should not be worried by this.<\/span><\/p>\n Firstly, he says, all D.L. 600 contracts signed before the end of 2015 will be respected and, secondly, companies will still be able to invest via Chapter XIV of the central bank\u2019s Compendium of Foreign Exchange Regulations, an alternative vehicle for FDI.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t forget that for several years, most FDI in Chile has come in via Chapter XIV, not D.L. 600,\u201d he points out. (see graph no.3)<\/span><\/p>\n Graph no.3 Source: Comit\u00e9 de Inversiones extranjeras en base a datos del Banco Central de Chile.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Finally, Pizarro says the government will replace D.L. 600 with something far better \u2013 a whole new framework for FDI.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cD.L. 600 is just a mechanism,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat we need today goes far beyond that. It\u2019s about bringing ourselves up to date, having a country strategy and a new agency that will allow us to attract world-class FDI.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The government has set up a commission to decide what this new framework should look like. It is working with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Chilean private sector and is due to deliver its findings in January.<\/span><\/p>\n Energy and Pensions<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the dip in FDI since 2012, some sectors are still attracting significant investment from abroad, much of it from the United States. The renewable energy sector is one of them.<\/p>\n California-based SunEdison has built two solar parks in the Atacama Desert while Arizona\u2019s Solar Chile is constructing another close to Copiap\u00f3.<\/span><\/p>\n Pattern Energy, headquartered in San Francisco, has teamed up with Antofagasta Minerals to build the biggest wind farm in Chile and is now embarking on its first Chilean solar project near Taltal.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cChile\u2019s a great market because of the president\u2019s strong support for renewable energy projects,\u201d says Pattern\u2019s CEO Mike Garland, referring to Bachelet\u2019s pledge that over the next decade 45% of new electricity generating capacity will come from non-conventional renewable sources.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe were also attracted to Chile because of its robust and stable economy and the fact that electricity pricing is in U.S. dollars,\u201d Garland said.<\/span><\/p>\n The other big area for U.S. investment in Chile is financial services.\u00a0<\/span>In 2013, U.S. life insurer MetLife bought Chilean pension fund manager AFP Provida while Iowa-based Principal Financial Group bought another pension provider, Cuprum. U.S. insurer Prudential is in the process of buying a 40% stake in a third Chilean pension provider, Habitat.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese are billion-dollar investments in areas where U.S. companies have technology and best practices that can help Chile be more competitive,\u201d Barclay says.<\/span><\/p>\n But these deals also raise a question: if Chile is so attractive then why are Chilean firms getting out of it by selling to U.S. companies?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMaybe the locals want to diversify or maybe they\u2019re not that optimistic about Chile,\u201d Barclay says. \u201cIt\u2019s too early to tell but in my mind it raises questions. In the long run, you really need the local players to be confident about their home market.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n What is to be done?<\/strong><\/p>\n So what can be done to revive FDI in Chile, apart from simply waiting for a rebound in the copper price?<\/p>\n Part of the solution clearly lies with the government\u2019s commission. Its findings will be closely scrutinised when they are unveiled in January.<\/span><\/p>\n For U.S. investors, a double-tax agreement with Chile would also help. The two countries have signed one but it has yet to be ratified (see box).<\/span><\/p>\n For Giovanni Stumpo at ECLAC, the key lies in diversification.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cChile\u2019s problem is that FDI is still limited to too few sectors,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYou have to identify sectors with potential and then come up with an industrial plan tailored to their needs. That might mean building a technology center to transfer technology from abroad. It might mean offering credits to small businesses. It might involve offering tax breaks or subsidies.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cNot every country in the world can produce satellites or cellphones but every country can make something that it\u2019s not making at the moment. The challenge is to work out what.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The FIC is also playing its part in promoting Chile as a recipient for foreign investment.\u00a0<\/span>Pizarro says it has events planned in 16 countries over the coming months and will host an international forum on FDI in January.\u00a0<\/span>And despite the slowdown of the past two years, almost everyone agrees that Chile\u2019s sound fundamentals will ensure that is continues to attract investment from abroad.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf the perception of Chile has changed, it has done so only marginally,\u201d says the IMF\u2019s Werner. \u201cIt\u2019s still seen as a role model for Latin American countries in terms of economic management.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Amcham\u2019s Barclay agrees referencing \u201cthe strength of the instiutional framework\u201dwhich is key to foreign investors.<\/p>\n The CPC\u2019s Santa Cruz says that despite concerns over the government\u2019s reform program, Chile\u2019s \u201cprimordial vocation\u201d as a country open to free-market trade \u201cremains intact\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n While that remains the case, Chile will attract foreign capital \u2013 even if not in the record quantities seen in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n Durante sus recientes viajes a Estados Unidos, Alemania, Espa\u00f1a y China la Presidenta de Chile, Michelle Bachelet, hizo el esfuerzo de destacar que su pa\u00eds sigue siendo un lugar fabuloso para invertir.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Durante sus recientes viajes a Estados Unidos, Alemania, Espa\u00f1a y China la Presidenta de Chile, Michelle Bachelet, hizo el esfuerzo de destacar que su pa\u00eds sigue siendo un lugar fabuloso para invertir.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","news_tax":[],"user_type":[],"class_list":["post-5300","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![](\"\/sites\/default\/files\/Cover_grafico_3.JPG\")
<\/p>\n![](\"\/sites\/default\/files\/Alejandro_werner.JPG\")
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<\/p>\n![](\"\/sites\/default\/files\/Mike_Garland.JPG\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Net foreign direct investment in Chile<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nIED in Chile, 2009-2013\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\nDistribution of gross income from capital contributions\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n