Foreign Direct Investment in Medellin tops US$821 Million; USA Biggest Source: ACI
The Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellin and the Metropolitan Area (ACI) announced December 16 that Medellin nabbed US$821.6 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) from 2012 to 2015 — with FDI investments in 2015 alone breaking all previous records.
In 2015 alone, Medellin attracted US$248.9 million in FDI, while the city also separately attracted another US$10.2 million in additional resources in 2015 from various international agencies for technical-cooperation programs.
“The arrival of 54 new investors in this [2012 to 2015 term] consolidated the city as an environment conducive to investment because of its strong local target market, human talent, competitiveness, and strengths as a city of knowledge and innovation and [relative] ease to realize public, private and academic alliances,” according to ACI.
Technical-cooperation funds from international agencies such as UN-Habitat, the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Commission went for separate government programs including bilingual teacher training and education; support for displaced families; care for victims of armed conflicts; early-childhood support; homeless programs, and “initiatives for sustainability and economic development,” according to ACI.
Of the US$821.6 million in FDI over the past four years, 58% of that was reinvestment by companies already established in Medellin, while the other 42% came from new investors to the city.
The biggest-five FDI sources were, in order, the USA, France, Chile, China and Brazil. “The economic sectors with the greatest impact on the amount of registered investment were automotive and auto parts, metalworking, aerospace, chemical, retail, transport, hotel infrastructure and software,” according to ACI.
Among FDI highlights this year were investments by Valver of Spain, Holcim of Switzerland, Cemex of Mexico, Algar Tech of Brazil and Materialise of Belgium. Thanks to new investments by 16 foreign companies during 2015, Medellin added 1,250 new jobs, according to ACI.
