The seven key ways Foreign Direct Investment impacts the Chilean economy

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While foreign companies represent less than 10% of the total number of companies in Chile, they represent 51% of the total taxes paid, 30% of the formal job market, 65% of exported goods and 85% of the country’s exported services.

There are 64,680 foreign companies in Chile, which account for only 9.6% of the total number of firms in the country. Although this percentage may seem small, foreign companies have significantly benefited the Chilean economy. This is how:

1. Contributing taxes: Foreign companies pay 51.4% of the total tax collected in Chile.

2. Promoting investment: They represent 40% of annual production investment in Chile.

3. Generating jobs and income: Foreign companies are responsible for more than 1.3 million formal jobs (30% of the workforce). 

4. Building production capacity: Around 54% of the large foreign capital companies have entered Chile by creating projects from scratch.

5. Boosting international trade: Foreign firms account for 65% of Chile’s total goods exports and 85% of its service exports.

6. Promoting R&D investment: They greatly exceed domestic companies in R&D activities (35.5% foreign vs. 27.1% domestic). 

7. Providing more training: Large international companies allocate an average of 10.4% of their investments to worker training.

Source: Invest Chile

Post available in: English