The Institute of Economic Studies (IEE) maintains that guaranteeing macroeconomic stability, strengthening legal certainty and raising regulatory quality and institutional efficiency are essential elements for consolidating the arrival of capital in Ibero-America.
On the occasion of the 30th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, within the framework of the XVI Ibero-American Business Meeting, the Institute of Economic Studies has presented the report "Factors for strengthening investment in Ibero-America. The business commitment".
The document concludes that boosting investment is a key condition for the region to increase its productivity, expand its growth capacity and improve the living standards of its population.
The study examines the productive, macroeconomic and institutional factors that influence investment decisions, comparing the situation of Ibero-America with that of the OECD and focusing on the countries of the American continent.
According to the report, the area has abundant natural resources, markets of significant size, business dynamism and a relevant position in the reconfiguration of global value chains. All this, together with its economic and cultural ties with Europe, creates a solid basis for attracting investment projects. In addition, the region has strengthened its macroeconomic resilience and the credibility of its central banks compared with previous stages.
However, the specialists warn that these advantages coexist with a structural problem of low growth. Behind this reduced potential are decades of scarce capital accumulation, limited productivity gains and levels of investment below what is necessary.
Growth forecasts are around 2.3%, a rate that does not allow the gap with the most developed economies to be narrowed. The productivity gap per hour with the United States has practically doubled since 1950.
In this context, the report underscores that Ibero-America must place investment at the center of its development strategy. In 2024, gross fixed capital formation accounted, on average, for 20.8% of the region's GDP, compared with the 22% recorded in the OECD.
In addition, the relative investment effort has weakened over the last decade, although with notable differences among countries. This insufficiency feeds a vicious circle of low growth: less investment implies lower renewal of productive capital and less incorporation of technology, which slows productivity gains and reduces the expected profitability of new projects.
"For this reason, it is not enough to increase the volume of investment, but it is also necessary to improve its quality, productivity, and permanence", experts have reiterated.
The evolution of foreign direct investment shows, at the same time, that the region maintains a significant attractiveness. Ibero-America went from concentrating 8% of global foreign direct investment flows in 2015 to 12.8% in 2025, although the volatility and concentration of these flows show that that potential has still not become established in a homogeneous way.
Spain, key investor and access platform to Europe
The report highlights that Spain remains a structural investor in Latin America and ranks among the main countries of origin of foreign capital in numerous markets in the region.
Its presence reaches around 40% of the FDI stock in Bolivia, 30% in Ecuador and between 20% and 25% in Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela.
In recent years, this investment relationship has intensified, with a greater number of Spanish companies operating in the main Latin American markets.
At the same time, Spain is consolidating itself as the gateway for Latin American capital into the European Union. Investment from Latin America maintains a growing trend, albeit with episodes of volatility, and confirms Spain's role as a platform for the internationalization of Latin American companies.
The EU-Mercosur agreement strengthens this economic link by offering a more stable and predictable framework for trade and investment, fostering regulatory cooperation and expanding reciprocal access to both parties' markets.