Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Colombia increased 15.8% in 2016, almost entirely because of the $2 billion sale of energy company Isagen to Canadian asset manager Brookfield.
Total FDI went from $11.7 billion to $13.6 billion, meaning FDI would have slightly dropped had it not been because of the mega sale of one of the country’s largest energy producers.
Foreign direct investment in Colombia | Fact sheet
The privatization of Isagen boosted FDI in the energy sector from $274 million in 2015 to an unprecedented $3.6 billion last year.
Other sectors that saw increased foreign investment were banking (+22.3%), agriculture (+19%), community services (+47%) and “transport, storage and telecommunications” (+36.8%).
Foreign investment in the country’s biggest export sectors, oil and mining, continued dropping. The oil sector saw a 13.5% drop in investment, while the mining sector registered a 104 million divestment.
According to President Juan Manuel Santos, the two sectors that were once hailed as “the engine” of Colombia’s economy last year received only 15.2% of the total FDI against 76.5% in 2010.
Other sectors that saw investment drop were manufacturing (-22.5%), construction (-9.2%), and trade and tourism (-43.5%).
Disregarding the Brookfield investment, Santos claimed the increase in foreign investment was due to a “diversification” of investment.
The United States reclaimed its #1 position as investment origin country between 2010 and 2016 after US investment last year rose 0.8% while that of Panama, which overtook the US last year, dropped 11.1%.