In 2025, Argentina ranked lowest in foreign direct investment among the six largest economies in Latin America, as indicated by a regional study. Last year, the country attracted $3.1 billion in direct foreign investment. Brazil led the rankings with US$76.8 billion, trailed by Mexico at US$40 billion, Chile at US$13 billion, Colombia at US$11 billion, and Costa Rica at US$6 billion. The ranking was published by the think-tank Misión Productiva, utilising data sourced from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. “The contrast reflects the difficulties that persist in Argentina to consolidate itself as a destination for productive capital in the long term, even in sectors where the country has competitive advantages and strong regulation incentives,” Misión Productiva stated in their report.
Furthermore, the think-tank asserted that foreign investment “will hardly be able to expand in a sustained manner in a context of a depressed domestic market, idle use of installed capacity, and absence of long-term financing.” The report arrives as the Argentine government endeavours to draw increased investments through its 2024 Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI, by its Spanish initials), which provides tax incentives and currency exchange advantages. This week, national authorities introduced a new bill in Congress designed to establish the “Super RIGI,” which aims to provide enhanced incentives and benefits for both domestic and international companies investing in emerging industries.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo stated that Argentina’s position at the bottom of the investments ranking “does not create any awkwardness” for the government, countering an assertion made by Clarín newspaper, and added that “it is logical, after so many years of populism.” And “Attracting direct foreign investment usually takes many years of economic and political stability,” he stated in an X post. “The miracle is that in only two and a half years there are US$140 billion in diverse projects that will be invested in upcoming years.” Those projects, he stated, “will change the Argentine productive matrix forever.” Caputo notes that since the inception of the regime, 38 RIGI projects have been submitted, amounting to US$124 billion in investments and the potential to yield US$41 billion in exports.
Of those, 16 projects have received approval, amounting to nearly US$30 billion in investment. During his speech at the Latam Economic Forum on Thursday, he stated that there is “a brutal interest in investing in the [Argentine] real economy, which will create growth, jobs and better salaries.” He added that the juridical security and competitive tax conditions created by the RIGI, along with President Javier Milei “comfortably winning” the 2027 elections, will facilitate the implementation of more large-scale investments in Argentina.