LatinNews Daily - 20 March 2024

*Mexico’s economy ministry (SE) has announced that foreign companies made a total of 73 new investment announcements between 1 January and 15 March 2024, with expected investment of US$31.51bn. The SE stated that these investments would be reflected in Mexico’s foreign direct investment (FDI) figures in the next two to four years. The US was the main country of origin of the investments, with 57% of the total coming from the country, followed by Germany (17%), Argentina (14%), and China (6%). According to the SE, the investments will generate over 39,000 jobs, with investments targeting the manufacturing (54% of total), mass media (16%), trade (15%), and transport (14%) sectors. The main Mexican states to benefit are the central states of Querétaro (18%), where Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a major investment in February, Estado de México (14%), and Puebla (5%), as well as the northern state of Nuevo León (10%). The SE highlighted investments in the first two weeks of March from Argentine online retailer Mercado Libre (US$2.45bn) and US supermarket giant Walmart (US$2.13bn).