There was good news today for President López Obrador, whose optimism over Mexico’s financial outlook is not shared by many economic analysts — foreign investment is up.

The president told reporters this morning that Foreign Direct Investment was up 6.9% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

According to the Secretariat of Economy, the first three months of this year saw Mexico capture a total of US $10.16 billion.

With 36.7% of the total, the manufacturing sector captured the greatest portion of investment, followed by financial services and insurance at 23.8%.

The United States continued to be the largest source of foreign investment, with 43.1% of the total. Spain was second, contributing 13.8% of the total, followed by Belgium with 6.9% and Canada with 5.8%.

Reinvestment of profits was the principal origin, responsible for 83.4%. New investments represented 22.5%.

President López Obrador’s chief of staff said in March that Mexico should aim for as much as $40 billion a year in foreign investment.

The president, a frequent critic of ratings agencies and analysts who have not been swayed by his upbeat outlook, described the investment figure as “a good sign. Let’s see what the experts say . . . I don’t see any financial problem.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)