Due to the dismissal of high ranking officials of the justice sector and the fact that President Bukele has strained his relationship with Washington, Salvadoran businessmen foresee an uncertain future for US investments that may come to the country.
After the dismissal of the magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber and the Attorney General in El Salvador, the business sector affirmed that this situation was "facts that consolidate an attack against democracy and threaten the liberties of Salvadorans."
President Laurentino Cortizo sanctioned the law that creates the National Authority for the Attraction of Investments and Promotion of Exports of Panama, an institution whose objective is to attract foreign investment to the country.
The law establishes the legal framework for the Investment Attraction and Export Promotion Agency (ProPanama) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be elevated to an Authority, to give it greater sustainability and to execute, in a strategic and channeled manner, the different public-private efforts to attract investments and support the promotion of exports, informed the Presidency.
The bill to create the Authority for the Attraction of Investments and Promotion of Exports in Panama was approved in second debate.
The creation of an independent Authority exclusively in charge of attracting investments was passed to the third debate. Bill 543 creates the Authority for the Attraction of Investments and Promotion of Exports (PROPANAMA), informed the National Assembly on March 11.
A few weeks before the new magistrates of the Constitutional Court take office in Guatemala, the business sector is asking that the new members of the highest court advocate for a real rule of law and provide legal certainty to investments.
In recent years, Guatemala's Constitutional Court (CC) has gained prominence in the country's economic sphere, as its rulings have affected different investments that were already operating locally.
Because of the economic crisis, Foreign Direct Investment flows have practically vanished, and in order to attract the few investments that are projected for next year, countries are expected to compete by offering incentives and aid programs for businesses.
The covid-19 outbreak dissipated the investment intentions of companies globally. At the beginning of the fourth quarter of the year, there are signs that business confidence has begun to recover; however, pessimism among investors is expected to continue next year.
The health and economic crisis will result in a reordering of foreign investment at the global level, and countries like Central America will have the opportunity to take advantage of their geographical position to attract fresh capital.
The outbreak of covid-19 worldwide will cause a drop in production in 2020, however, by 2021 and 2022 the forecasts of international organizations anticipate that economic activity could rebound, a rise that would be coupled with new investments in various markets and sectors.
From January to September 2019, the country received $671 million in foreign direct investment, 6% more than in the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Bank of Guatemala show that between the first nine months of 2018 and the same period in 2019, foreign direct investment (FDI) that reached the country increased by $39 million, from $671 million to $632 million.
During the first six months of the year, foreign direct investment flows in the country reached $3.237 million, 11% more than in the same period of 2018.
Between the first semester of 2018 and the same period of 2019 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that reached the country increased by $309 million, going from $2.928 million to $3.237 million, explains a report from the Comptroller of the Republic.
Between the first semester of 2018 and the same period of 2019, the flows of Foreign Direct Investment reaching the country decreased by 25%, a decrease that is explained by the uncertainty that predominates among businessmen, derived from the political and economic crisis.
According to official figures, from January to June of this year the country received $364 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which is less than the $483 million received in the first six months of 2018.
From January to June 2019, the country received $536 million in foreign direct investment, 2% less than in the same period of 2018.
According to data from the Bank of Guatemala, between the first semester of 2018 and the same period of 2019, foreign direct investment (FDI) that arrived in the country decreased by $10 million, going from $546 million to $536 million.
After the first semester of 2018 reported a 29% year-on-year fall in the flow of Foreign Direct Investment, in the period from January to June 2019 the increase was 52%.
During the first semester of 2019, El Salvador received $435.9 million in net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which allowed it to surpass by far the historical average of the last ten years, informed the Central Reserve Bank.
In Guatemala, businessmen are asking the incoming government to create a public policy on foreign investment that incorporates issues such as fair and equitable treatment of investments, the minimum standard of treatment and the definition of arbitrariness.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country is not having its best moment, as figures from the Bank of Guatemala indicate that in 2018 the flow captured was $1.031 million, 12% less than the $1.170 million reported in 2017. See official data.
Panama and Honduras were the only two Central American countries to report increases in foreign direct investment in 2018 over the previous year, with year-on-year changes of 36% and 3%, respectively.
The growth of investments directed to Panama, which concentrated 51% of the sub-regional total, explained the increase that was reached in 2018 in Central America (9.4%), since except Panama and Honduras, the Central American countries received less Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) than in 2017, explains the report "Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2019", produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Most of the reported increase in foreign investment flows to the country in the first quarter of the year was explained by investments in the electricity sector.
In the first quarter of 2019, figures from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) report a considerable increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) compared to the same period last year, going from $293 million to $340 million.