Foreign Capital On Its Way To The Southern Cone
I recently wrote to you about how the Chilean government has been trying to attract foreign capital to the country recently and is even willing to assist new start-ups that set up shop in this part of the Southern Cone.
But saying you want to attract business and investment and actually doing so are often times two very different things.
Luckily Chile falls into the latter category.
Mining
Considering Chile is home to some of the largest copper and lithium deposits on the planet, it shouldn't be too surprising that a significant portion of the foreign capital pouring into the country right now is being put into the mining industry.
What's been less anticipated though is the increase in the number of projects that have recently entering the planning stage.
Just last month Chile's Mining Minister announced the addition of six new projects (one gold, two lithium and three copper) which pushes the total valuation of anticipated projects just over the $65 billion USD mark.
And while $65 billion USD worth of investment in a country of just 17 million people might seem like a pretty big deal, the even more interesting news is that mining isn't the only industry attracting foreign capital to Chile anymore.
Earlier this year the World Economic Forum gave Chile first place in Latin America in its Global Competitiveness Index and the number of foreign companies looking to either establish a foothold or increase operations here has been astounding.
From agriculture to energy or tourism to tech, mainstream companies are finally catching onto how attractive this corner of the world is.
Retail
In the world of retail, Walmart recently reached an agreement to aquire Cornershop, a leading online marketplace that operates in parts of Latin America, from it's Chilean and Swedish founders for $225 million USD.
Walmart's CEO Judith McKenna said that it was a move to strengthen their businesses which are already operating in the region and leverage their strong supply chain and store network.
Tech
Earlier this year when Amazon Web Services' vice president Teresa Carlson met with Chilean officials to talk about setting up shop in Chile for their cloud computing business, she stated "We think Chile is super important to Latin America and the rest of the world. You’re going to see us here for the long-term."
Then just last month Google announced that it's going to be investing $140 million USD in order to triple the capacity of their existing data center located just outside of Santiago.
Energy
Of all the conventional and alternative energy projects currently underway in Chile, one of the most interesting has to be US-based EIG Global's solar/thermal energy farm located in the Atacama region.
Through the use of photovoltaic panels, molten salts and steam turbines, it's going to be the first solar plant in all of Latin America capable of producing base load energy and is set to come online in late 2019.
Agriculture
Between the growth of the middle class in Asia and increased popularity of organic fruits and vegetables in North America, it doesn't look like the demand for high quality agricultural land is going to be decreasing anytime soon.
The harvest season for most agricultural products in Chile runs from December through March and since that translates to the dead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the future of farming is probably going to be quite different here than it will be in more "conventional" farming districts around the globe.
There's already been a noticeable increase in the number of American, Asian, European and Middle Eastern companies setting up fruit and nut planations down here and with such incredible access to clean irrigation water (most canals come right out of the Andes in central Chile), this trend very well may just be getting started.
When I first arrived in Chile over eight years ago, I couldn't believe how ripe the country was with business and investment opportunities.
What was even more shocking was how few people were taking advantage of them.
Over the years, the situation has started to change and while there's more competition in the local market today than there was eight years ago, there's still a lot of room for growth.
When you take into account the country's low national debt and clear rule of law and match those with considerable mineral wealth, an abundance of fresh water and agricultural land and very strong natural borders, you start to realize that Chile stands head and shoulders above not just other countries in Latin America, but around most of the world.
But saying you want to attract business and investment and actually doing so are often times two very different things.
Luckily Chile falls into the latter category.
Mining
Considering Chile is home to some of the largest copper and lithium deposits on the planet, it shouldn't be too surprising that a significant portion of the foreign capital pouring into the country right now is being put into the mining industry.
What's been less anticipated though is the increase in the number of projects that have recently entering the planning stage.
Just last month Chile's Mining Minister announced the addition of six new projects (one gold, two lithium and three copper) which pushes the total valuation of anticipated projects just over the $65 billion USD mark.
And while $65 billion USD worth of investment in a country of just 17 million people might seem like a pretty big deal, the even more interesting news is that mining isn't the only industry attracting foreign capital to Chile anymore.
Earlier this year the World Economic Forum gave Chile first place in Latin America in its Global Competitiveness Index and the number of foreign companies looking to either establish a foothold or increase operations here has been astounding.
From agriculture to energy or tourism to tech, mainstream companies are finally catching onto how attractive this corner of the world is.
Retail
In the world of retail, Walmart recently reached an agreement to aquire Cornershop, a leading online marketplace that operates in parts of Latin America, from it's Chilean and Swedish founders for $225 million USD.
Walmart's CEO Judith McKenna said that it was a move to strengthen their businesses which are already operating in the region and leverage their strong supply chain and store network.
Tech
Earlier this year when Amazon Web Services' vice president Teresa Carlson met with Chilean officials to talk about setting up shop in Chile for their cloud computing business, she stated "We think Chile is super important to Latin America and the rest of the world. You’re going to see us here for the long-term."
Then just last month Google announced that it's going to be investing $140 million USD in order to triple the capacity of their existing data center located just outside of Santiago.
Energy
Of all the conventional and alternative energy projects currently underway in Chile, one of the most interesting has to be US-based EIG Global's solar/thermal energy farm located in the Atacama region.
Through the use of photovoltaic panels, molten salts and steam turbines, it's going to be the first solar plant in all of Latin America capable of producing base load energy and is set to come online in late 2019.
Agriculture
Between the growth of the middle class in Asia and increased popularity of organic fruits and vegetables in North America, it doesn't look like the demand for high quality agricultural land is going to be decreasing anytime soon.
The harvest season for most agricultural products in Chile runs from December through March and since that translates to the dead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the future of farming is probably going to be quite different here than it will be in more "conventional" farming districts around the globe.
There's already been a noticeable increase in the number of American, Asian, European and Middle Eastern companies setting up fruit and nut planations down here and with such incredible access to clean irrigation water (most canals come right out of the Andes in central Chile), this trend very well may just be getting started.
When I first arrived in Chile over eight years ago, I couldn't believe how ripe the country was with business and investment opportunities.
What was even more shocking was how few people were taking advantage of them.
Over the years, the situation has started to change and while there's more competition in the local market today than there was eight years ago, there's still a lot of room for growth.
When you take into account the country's low national debt and clear rule of law and match those with considerable mineral wealth, an abundance of fresh water and agricultural land and very strong natural borders, you start to realize that Chile stands head and shoulders above not just other countries in Latin America, but around most of the world.
