The Dominican Republic was the second largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Caribbean, after Guyana, and the ninth in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022. It received US$4,010 million, a figure 25% higher than in 2021 and the highest in the last 30 years highlighted yesterday by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean are in first place Brazil with US$91,502 million; Mexico with US$ 38,932 million; Chile with US$ 20,865 million; Colombia with US$ 16,869 million; Argentina US$ 15,408 million; Peru US$ 10,848 million; Uruguay US$ 9,325 million and Guyana US$ 4,389 million.
In 2022, US$224,579 million of FDI entered Latin America and the Caribbean, a figure 55.2% higher than that recorded in 2021 and the highest value since records have been kept, notes the annual report Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2023.
Regionally, the Dominican Republic’s FDI in 2022 represents 1.8% of the total received by Latin America and the Caribbean. Leading the list was Brazil (which received 41% of the regional total and ranked as the fifth destination for global FDI), followed by Mexico (17%), Chile (9%), Colombia (8%), Argentina (7%) and Peru (5%).
In the Caribbean, Guyana maintained its leadership and, together with the Dominican Republic, accounted for 89% of FDI from its 15 countries or territories. Although Guyana’s investments decreased 1.5%. The total for the Caribbean received US$9.74 billion.
If the Dominican Republic is compared to the six Central American countries, it is the one that received the most FDI in 2022. That sub-region received US$9,813 million, led by Costa Rica with US$3,673 million, followed by Panama with US$2,513 million, and Guatemala with US$1,352 million.
According to data shared by ECLAC yesterday, when examining the components of the Dominican Republic’s FDI, it can be seen that this increase was due to a 39% increase in capital inflows, which represented 56% of total inflows.
Meanwhile, the second largest component, reinvestment of profits (36% of the total), decreased by 14% compared to the previous year. And the remaining 8% was intercompany loans, which recorded a significant rise compared to the negative result obtained in 2021.
Among the sectors, the 29% growth in services stood out, which registered record inflows in 2022, with US$3,034 million, representing 76% of total FDI inflows to the country. The second sector was manufacturing, which accounted for 15% of the total and in 2022 received 95% more inflows than in 2021. On the other hand, the natural resources sector (representing 9% of the total) received 30% less inflows than in 2021.
The United States continues to be the largest foreign investor, with 38% of the total received. In addition, FDI inflows originating in that country grew by 8% compared to 2021. As for other investor countries, the 63% growth in capital from Spain stands out, representing 9% of the total invested in 2022, trailing only Mexico (with 10% of the total, representing a 1% growth in the year under analysis) and Canada (also with 9%, representing a 4% decrease).
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