In the first half of the year the country received $199 million more than in the same period last year.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Unlike previous years, Costa Rica is not located at the top of the list of countries attracting the most foreign direct investment in Central America, but has been replaced by countries like El Salvador and Nicaragua, who years ago were at the bottom of the list.
In the case of Nicaragua, investment flows coming into the country have exceeded all previous years' figures. In the first six months of the year alone, $417 million came into the country for this purpose, an increase of 92% compared to the same period in 2010.
This means that Nicaragua has the second highest revenue growth in Central America in this sector in the aforementioned period.
After Nicaragua, comes El Salvador, which received a 1000% increase in foreign investment in the same period.
An article in laprensa.com.ni indicates: "Costa Rica is growing by only 45% with an entry of $327 million, while the country with the lowest growth in the region was Honduras."
During the first quarter of 2013, foreign direct investment totaled $440.8 million, and if this pace is kept up, the year could close at $1.5 billion.
According to data from ProNicaragua, the sector which contributed the most was industry with $131.6 million and growth of 143% compared to the same period in 2012, followed by the financial sector with $96.5 million and an increase of 36% as well as trade and services with $83.4 million and an increase of 151%. The telecommunications and energy sectors, which are often the biggest contributors, contributed $54.8 and $19.2 million respectively.