• At the meeting, the minister highlighted the importance of attracting sustainable foreign investment, which creates high-quality jobs and fosters the activity of SME suppliers.  

 Chile’s Minister of Economy, Development, and Tourism, Nicolás Grau, together with Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (InvestChile) Director, Karla Flores, led a meeting with 40 representatives of 17 binational chambers of commerce as part of the InvestChileTalks initiative, where they also presented an international agenda to promote foreign investment in Chile. 

The meeting—whose aim was to discuss the Government’s lines of action and present the vision and plans of foreign investors in the country—was attended by representatives of binational chambers of commerce from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania, with delegates from Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Japan, China, India, and Australia. 

InvestChileTalks provided a conducive setting for the Ministry of Economy and InvestChile to present their main guidelines for foreign investment to leaders of major binational chambers of commerce that represent a significant percentage of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Chile. 

Foreign Investment is key

Recovering investment and productivity is one of the pillars of the Government’s agenda. Attracting foreign investment is key to achieving this, as it plays a significant role in closing gaps, developing capabilities, creating high-quality jobs, and increasing the sophistication of the country’s production system.  

“Chile has a tremendous opportunity to make this transition toward a green economy. There are currently projects with investment totaling a little under US$1 billion that were triggered by US$50 million in public funds. When the public sectors gets involved through various institutions, or international bodies, this is a positive sign for the private sector which enables us to coordinate investment in a specific direction. We are making these efforts which, in our opinion, will leverage and encourage increased private financing and foreign investment, creating business opportunities in this and many other areas of our economy”, said Grau. 

Meanwhile, InvestChile’s director called on the chambers of commerce present at the meeting to join its efforts, which are focused on three main pillars: positioning foreign investment as a political and economic tool for the country’s development strategy; promoting foreign investment in order for its benefits to pay an effective role in resolving the urgent needs of the Chilean people; and positioning Chile as a hub of investment opportunities for future-focused solutions. 

“The first thing that we will achieve by coordinating with Government ministries, services, and regional governments, as well as incorporating the private sector, is to focus our efforts on sectors in which foreign investment can help us to make a leap in terms of quality. Secondly, we have to generate the conditions, both with regard to professional and technical training and SME suppliers, to make the most of the benefits of this investment. And thirdly, we want to promote the special characteristics that make Chile an outstanding natural laboratory to be a test market for technological, inclusive, and green innovation”, noted Flores. 

InvestChile also announced a series of investment promotion roadshows that will be held in North American, European, and Asian markets during the second half of this year, with the support of the country’s Ministry of Economy. The first roadshow will be held on June 6 in Ottawa, Canada, and will include activities with 120 Canadian companies and more than 500 U.S. companies. 

Similarly, the agency announced that it will hold an international investment forum in December, which is expected to be attended by more than 100 representatives of foreign companies, and a special work program with Chile’s National Migration Service to streamline the entry of foreign investors to the country. 

We invite you to check out the photo gallery from this event.