In a highly positive sign for Latin America business and investment, the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has significantly raised its predictions for growth in the region during 2021, offering a strong indication of economic reactivation in the wake of the global pandemic.
According to a newly released report from ECLAC, gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin America and the Caribbean is now expected to grow 5.9% overall, having been predicted to grow 5.2% in a previous report only released in July.
That revised number is a welcome boost for Latin America business that is driven by some significant upgrades in growth predictions for individual countries in the region.
While Guyana and Panama continue to lead the regional pack, with unchanged anticipated growth rates of 16% and 12% respectively, Peru’s expected growth has risen from 9.5% to 10.6%. Meanwhile Chile’s has increased from 8% to 9.2% and the Dominican Republic has seen its prediction go from 7.1% to 8%.
SEE ALSO: Essential Guide for Company Incorporation in Chile
The most impressive increases in anticipated growth saw El Salvador and Colombia’s rates rise more than 2% each. In the case of El Salvador, it leapt from 5% to 7.5%, while Colombia’s expected GDP growth moved from 5.4% to 7.5%.
ECLAC’s revised figure follows the Salvadoran government’s own recent upgrading of its 2021 projection, however it fell short of the 9% growth predicted by El Salvador’s central bank last month.
Notably, none of the countries saw their GDP growth predictions reduced since the previous report, indicating a highly positive outlook for Latin America business.
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More positive news from the region for investors
The improved outlook for growth in the region comes amid widespread positive indicators coming out of numerous countries recently that bode well for Latin America business.
They include a 50% increase in public investment in Peru in August and a 6.4% drop in unemployment in Bolivia during July, while in El Salvador internal production and increased industrial activity has reportedly seen job numbers return to the same level as before the global health crisis.
Meanwhile, Colombia was recently reported to be among the top three nations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for company formation.
In Brazil, investor confidence was recently reported to have hit an eight-year high, while Chile saw foreign direct investment (FDI) break its historic record in the first half of the year.
Such figures have seen growing confidence among investors, with the climate Latin America business recently reported to be in its best state in more than three years.
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