UAE accounts for 77% of GCC investments in Latin America over 2016-2021

The UAE accounts for 77 percent  of GCC investments in Latin American (LatAm) markets between 2016 and 2021,  according to a new whitepaper released by Dubai Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Economist Impact.

The report, titled Cultivating Ties: Deepening trade and investment between LatAm and the GCC, was issued ahead of the Global Business Forum Latin America 2022, which takes place on March 23-24, at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Dubai Exhibition Centre.

The whitepaper examines the evolving trade and investment relationship between LatAm and the GCC countries and identifies key areas of opportunity where the GCC can be a destination for LatAm products, a supplier for industries, an investor for growing operations, and a knowledge partner for industry best practices.

The report is based on a survey of 200 senior executives in Latin America, conducted between May and July 2021. Respondents were drawn from a range of sectors, including around 15 percent each from agriculture and food, financial services and fintech, retail and e-commerce, industry and energy, healthcare, transport and logistics and 10% from professional services and marketing. 

The survey focuses on how businesses performed during the pandemic, their responses to challenges, the post-pandemic business outlook, and drivers of engagement with different regions such as the Middle East (including the GCC), Africa and South-East Asia.

Saudi Arabia accounted for 22 percent of GCC investments to Latin America during 2016-2021, followed by Qatar with  1 percent. Half of the investments from the GCC to LatAm were directed to logistics, distribution and transportation companies, in the region with DP World accounting for large share of the investments.

On the other hand, foreign direct investment from LatAm into the GCC between 2017 and 2021 was estimated at under $500 million, of which 85 percent of FDI was sourced from Brazil and 13 percent from Argentina. 

Some of the biggest investments were made by Brazil’s BRF, one of the world’s biggest food processing companies and a leading supplier of poultry to the GCC markets.

The report noted that bilateral trade between Latin America and GCC markets countries saw an increase in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic, with imports rising sharply between 2017 and 2019.