Chile – new foreign investment law President Michelle Bachelet passed into law on 16 June a new regulatory regime for foreign investment in Chile. The new law, which replaces the 1974 Foreign Investment Act, will provide “a more modern legal framework” allowing the country to adopt a proactive role in attracting investors, Bachelet said during a ceremony to mark the law’s passage at the La Moneda presidential palace. “It is a law that not only establishes the conditions for foreign investors but that also involves the creation of a national strategy to promote foreign direct investment (FDI)…For the first time…

Trouble for Odebrecht and Andrade The presidents of two of Brazil’s largest construction companies, Marcelo Odebrecht (of Construtora Odebrecht) and Otávio Azevedo (of Andrade Gutiérrez) were arrested by police on 21 June. Reports said they were held as part of the on-going investigation involving the payment of bribes to giant state oil company Petrobras. A total of 25 construction companies and Petrobras contractors are alleged to have been involved in corrupt payments totalling over US$3bn. One of four brothers, Marcelo Odebrecht took over from his father to run the family-owned group in 2008. The group now operates through 15 divisions…

The latest foreign direct investment (FDI) report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says that after a decade of strong growth, FDI inflows to the region fell by 16% in 2014. Despite a couple of blips in 2006 and 2009, FDI flows into the region rose steadily over the last decade, from US$46.9bn in 2003 to a peak of US$189.9bn in 2013. But the trend broke last year, according to ECLAC1, with a 16% drop to US$158.8bn. Behind this lay the impact of lower commodity export prices and slower GDP growth across the…