Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico increased 29.5% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period of 2021, according to preliminary statistics published by the Economy Ministry (SE) on Monday.

Just under US $32.15 billion flowed into the country between January and September, SE reported, an increase of $7.3 billion compared to the first nine months of last year.

The comparison is based on preliminary data for both 2021 and 2022. Final data typically shows that FDI was higher than first reported.

It was the first time since comparable records were first kept in 1999 that preliminary data has shown that FDI in Mexico exceeded $30 billion in the first nine months of a year. The data also showed that foreign investment in Mexico in the first nine months of the year exceeded the total for all of 2021, when FDI totaled just over $31.6 billion.

SE said that 45.2% of the $32 billion total was new investment, 43.7% was reinvestment of profits and 11.1% was movement of funds between companies.

The biggest foreign investor in the Mexican economy between January and September was the United States, with 39.1% of total FDI coming from that country. The next largest investors were, in order, Canada, with 9.5% of total FDI; Spain, 7.1%; Argentina, 4.9%; and Japan, 3.9%.

The manufacturing sector received 36.3% of the investment, SE’s preliminary data showed, well ahead of transport and the mass media, which got 14.5% and 13.6%, respectively. Financial services, retail and mining were among the other sectors that benefited from FDI in the first nine months of the year.

The manufacturing sector’s primacy coincides with a growing nearshoring phenomenon in Mexico. An increasing number of foreign manufacturing companies are setting up shop in Mexico, or planning to establish a presence here, in order to take advantage of the proximity to the United States, the world’s largest economy.

Northern and Bajío region states are particularly attractive in that respect, but none can compete with Mexico City when it comes to bringing in cash from foreign investors.

SE said that 86.2% of the FDI total in the first nine months of the year went to just 15 of the 32 federal entities. Mexico City received 32% of the total, or about $10.3 billion, and was thus easily the most popular destination for foreign money. Nuevo León, an industrial powerhouse, ranked second with 8.7% of the total, followed by Jalisco (7.5%), Chihuahua (5.2%) and Guanajuato (5.2%).

Mexico News Daily