Foreign direct investment (FDI) closed in 2023 the best calendar year since 2010, reaching 5,5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Central Bank (BCU) reported yesterday when releasing the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Report for the fourth quarter of 2023.
It is the “highest level for a year-end since 2010 (5,5% of GDP), leaving behind the UPM effect,” wrote the economist of the Center for Development Studies, Ignacio Umpiérrez on his X account (formerly Twitter). The current account deficit was 0,3 percentage points lower than in 2022. According to the BCU, “this lower deficit in the current account balance as a percentage of GDP, in 2023, compared to the previous year, occurs within the framework of a lower dissaving of the private sector in the year-on-year comparison (from -1,1% to -0,5% of GDP). On the contrary, the public sector deepened its deficit (from -2,8% to -3,1% of GDP).”
Services
In 2023, service exports totaled US$6.210 billion, “implying a variation of 11,5% compared to the previous year. The component with the greatest positive impact was the travel sector (inbound tourism), which increased 39% compared to the previous year. It should be noted that the number of tourists entering the country grew compared to 2022, even reaching levels above the levels recorded in the year prior to the pandemic, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism,” the BCU indicated.
“The increase in the travel sector is partly offset by falls in exports of Transport services and other services. In the case of transport, the fall was 7,7%” and in other services, the lower exports of other business services stand out (variation of -8,5%), partially offset by an increase in exports of financial services (+35,2%) and personal, cultural and recreational services (+26,2%).
Source: El País
