Latin America biz report highlights potential

A new report assessing the investment environment of countries in Latin America has been released, providing support for Chinese enterprises to go global and help promote high-quality bilateral development.

Latin America has abundant natural resources, vast market capacity and diverse social structure, which boasts significant development potential in the medium and long-term, said the report jointly released by Dagong Global Credit Rating Co Ltd and the Institute of the Belt and Road Initiative at Tsinghua University on Monday.

The regional economy of Latin America is at a moderate development level globally and Latin American countries have shown a general consensus on developing the green economy, digital economy and building new infrastructure.

"With increasing global uncertainties, doing in-depth research on the investment environment of Latin America is of special significance for deepening practical cooperation between China and Latin America," said Lyu Bole, secretary of the Party committee and chairman of Dagong Global.

Specifically, Brazil demonstrates strong attractiveness with its economic size, resource endowment, stable political situation and diverse financing channels. China and Brazil have vast opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, renewable energy and hydrogen production industries, the report said.

Mexico has become an important destination for foreign direct investment in the region, thanks to its location advantage and the benefits of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, while the policy uncertainty caused by its dependence on US policies needs to be taken seriously. Green and digital economies are becoming new growth points for China-Mexico cooperation.

"China and Latin American countries are developing countries with a common goal of addressing global challenges. Latin America has a big consumption market with significant potential in developing the digital economy," said Shi Zhiqin, executive dean of the Institute of the Belt and Road Initiative at Tsinghua University.

Chile's attractiveness continues to increase with its open institutional environment, high-quality workforce and policies that support green transformation. Peru, one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America, has made significant progress in building an open and efficient investment system. There is enormous potential for cooperation between China and Peru in ports, mining and financial technology.

Colombia has significant industrial diversity and geographical accessibility, and it stands as an important node for sustainable development and infrastructure cooperation between China and Latin America, while attention should be paid to labor management relations and tax risk management, the report said.

Dagong Global Credit Rating, a Chinese rating company founded 30 years ago, went through a strategic reorganization in 2019 and is currently affiliated with China Reform Holdings Corp.

It is working to enhance discourse power in the international credit rating sector, where Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings lead the market.