Guillem Pérez in Expansión
This week's business daily Expansion has published a report on the investment opportunities offered by the Latin American market. According to the newspaper, many Spanish SMEs are expanding their business model to the region, taking advantage of the dragging effect of the large established companies that need the auxiliary industry.
The technology services and solutions company Zemsania began its incursion into Latin America three years ago. It first set up in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and a year later it was expanded to Peru, which, despite being a small country, is very dynamic. Guillem Pérez spoke about the reasons why Zemsania has opted for the emerging Latin American market: “We are betting on these markets because they are the most dynamic in the world. politically and economically stable, have a high growth capacity and have public and private policies in place for the next few years to encouraging foreign investment in telecommunications infrastructures”.
Many small and medium-sized companies are betting on internationalization in Latin America, some as an escape route from the crisis and others as part of their business strategy. Despite its slowdown, caused by the stagnation of China and the fall in the price of oil and raw materials, the region continues to be very dynamic. This is how Expansión defines the markets:
- Mexico. Although the drop in the price of crude oil caused a decline in tax revenues, the manufacturing industry, which has benefited from the structural changes of Enrique Peña Nieto's government, offers investment opportunities. For example, the energy reform authorizes the entry of private capital for the construction of gas pipelines.
- Colombia. It was the country in the region that grew the most at the end of 2014, thanks to the good performance of construction and the increase in final consumption. Its main asset is its openness to the outside world: the trade agreement with the European Union establishes that exporters can save 500 million euros annually in customs.
- Peru. It is the favorite refuge for Spanish companies. Of the 386 located in the country, 242 have been established since 2009 in the services and infrastructure sector. Spain has an important weight in the economic trajectory of the Andean country. In fact, it is the country with the highest Foreign Direct Investment, more than 5,000 million euros, and employs half a million people, according to the book Presence and Impact of Spanish Investment in Peru. The 2019 Pan American Games concession is also attracting national construction companies.
- Brazil. Its economic recession and the political crisis, spattered by the scandal of the state-owned oil company Petrobras, has displaced the interest of companies to invest in the Latin American giant. Added to this is the complexity of the tax and legal system for setting up in the country.