The inflow of Latin American capital into the country has been “particularly intense” since 2010, with a growth of 103%, following an upward trend since then. The total accumulated investment in Spain originating from Latin America now amounts to 66.844 billion euros, 9.4% of the total.

These are some of the data collected in the seventh edition of the Global LATAM 2025 report, led by ICEX-Invest in Spain together with the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), which was presented today by the CEO of ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, Elisa Carbonell, and the Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand.

The report covers the origin, destination and industries for Latin American investment in Spain and includes, for the first time, the GLOBAL LATAM Multilatinas Index, which measures the most internationalised Latin American companies. It also analyses Spain’s role in acting as a bridge to Europe for these companies and includes an X-ray of Latin American investment in Spain.

In this respect, it explains that the “growing disembarkation” of Latin American capital in Spain is a “structural phenomenon” that has numerous driving factors, and which will allow for greater growth in the coming years.

As a medium-sized, high-income country (the fourth largest in Europe by population, with 48 million people), Spain offers access to the European market, the largest upper-middle-income market in the world. According to the Global LATAM report, it also has great political, regulatory and institutional stability, and can act as a safe haven asset, with a stable currency and controlled inflation safeguarded by the European Central Bank. In 2024, the FDI received by Spain from Latin America amounted to 2.178 billion euros, 5.3% less than in 2023, and in line with the average of recent years, in a context marked by global geopolitical tensions, disruptions in supply chains and a volatile international political environment.

During this presentation day, ICEX CEO Elisa Carbonell highlighted that the Global LATAM report is an essential tool  today for understanding the evolution of Latin American investment and for anticipating future trends.

In this new edition, the report confirms and emphasises that “Spain is already consolidating its position as the bridge to the European Union for Latin American capital and companies, which are increasingly internationalised despite the complex international panorama”. 

The Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand, did in turn highlight that the growth of global investment flowing in from Latin America and the Caribbean increased by almost 50% in 2024, a figure that confirms the robustness of the business internationalisation process in the region. He also pointed out the fact that Latin America is the fourth largest investor in Spain and that Spain is the second largest extra-regional destination for Latin American capital.

Over 600 companies and 44,000 jobs
Latin America – the fourth largest investor in Spain – is actually preceded by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, according to the seventh Global LATAM report, which states that “Latin American capital is increasingly flowing to Spain”. A total of 20 Latin American countries have investments in Spain, making up a business community of over 600 companies and 44,000 direct jobs.

Mexico leads in terms of source markets, far ahead of the rest with respect to Latin American investment, with 33.902 billion euros (50.2% of the total), making it the leading middle-income country in terms of investment in Spain and far ahead of any other emerging country.

In second place is Argentina with 10.569 billion euros (15.8% of the total); followed by Brazil, with 6.144 billion euros (9.2%); Colombia, with 6.023 billion euros (9%), the Latin American country whose investment in Spain is growing the most, and Uruguay, with 3.606 billion euros (5.4%).

Accumulated investment from Latin America now amounts to a total of 47.291 billion euros in Spain. If Latin American investments in holding companies (referred to as “Entidades de Tenencia de Valores Extranjeros (ETVE)” in Spain) are added to these figures, their volume would amount to 66.845 billion euros, 9.4% of total investment in Spain.

Diversified industries and high added value
According to fDi Markets data analysed by the 2025 Global LATAM report, 360 new greenfield investment projects originating from Latin America were announced in Spain during the period 2020-2024. The United States led this investment area (attracting 1,017 projects), but Spain was a great distance ahead of other European countries, such as France, with 103; Germany, with 89; Portugal, with 83, and Italy, with 34. Indeed, Spain receives more projects from Latin America than the rest of the European Union as a whole.

Furthermore, in the 21 years on record, the industry distribution of greenfield projects clearly shows that Latin American companies with a presence in Spain have a highly diversified profile and mainly operate in high value-added activities. In fact, the main industry has already emerged as Software and Information and Communications Technology, with 82 investment projects and confirms the “notable market entry” of Latin American start-ups and services firms in the Spanish market.

The second most important industry is Financial Services, with 45 projects, while the Food and Beverages industry remains significant with 34 projects, including the production, research and commercial activities of some major groups. With 25 projects, the Textile industry also has a considerable presence.

The Latin American business presence in Spain is extraordinarily diversified overall, extending across the 25 different industries making up the economy, and emphasising the substantial impact of these investments on the competitiveness and innovation of Spanish business. These data also show that Latin American companies are committed to Spain as their main destination in the European Union and that Latin American citizens also consider Spain to be their favourite place to live in Europe.

Highly skilled companies
Overall, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows out of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024 totalled an estimated 53.035 billion dollars globally, representing an increase of 49% over the previous year.

The report thus highlights the strength of Latin American investment abroad and stresses that 2024 marks the third highest annual amount on record, only behind 2022 (78.242 billion dollars) and 2010 (63.152 billion dollars). It is also well above the 2010-2024 average and clearly exceeds the five-year pre-pandemic average.

Four economies account for the bulk of outward foreign direct investment from Latin America: Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia. Together, they accounted for over 85% of the regional total in 2024.

In fact, the sustained high volumes of outward FDI show that the region has a business structure that is highly capable of competing globally, made up of both large corporations and an emerging number of service companies, mostly technology companies.

In this context, Latin American investment in new greenfield projects abroad maintained a significant dynamic in 2024, albeit lower than the record reached in 2023. In terms of the number of projects, investment activity remained stable, with a total of 355 projects carried out by 251 Latin American companies, virtually unchanged from the previous year (354 projects and 246 companies).

The employment generated by these investments was slightly higher than the previous year, at 48,546 jobs compared to 44,556 in 2023. The average investment per project also decreased slightly to $50 million, from an average of $68 million in 2023, although similar to the $53 million for the period analysed (2003-2024).

IGLM (Global LATAM Multilatinas Index) – an innovative indicator
This year, the report includes the new GLOBAL LATAM Multilatinas Index (IGLM), which presents the most internationalised Latin American companies, and is based on four[UdW1]  variables: sales and employment generated abroad, weighted geographical coverage and financial solvency. The IGLM is a unique tool based on a novel methodology that makes it possible to monitor the most global Latin American companies.

The IGML includes 348 Latin American companies with sales in excess of $2.5 billion. It is led by Tenaris (Argentina, metals); Orbia (Mexico, oil/chemicals); Nemak (Mexico, transport/manufacturing); Bimbo (Mexico, food); Cemex (Mexico, cement); Mercadolibre (Argentina, technology services); SQM (Chile, oil/chemicals); Gruma (Mexico, food); Vale (Brazil, mining) and Minerva Foods (Brazil, food).

By country, Brazil leads in terms of the absolute number (19 firms), although Mexico shows the highest average IGLM, thanks to financial and operational nearshoring models and, in terms of industries, chemicals, agribusiness and digital services outperform other traditional sectors, such as metals or fossil fuels.  

Expansion of investment 
After analysing current trends, the Global LATAM 2025 report predicts that Latin American investment in Spain will continue to expand in the future, as “the consolidation of economic ties between the two regions is generating an increasingly integrated and dynamic business ecosystem”.

It highlights the fact that new industries, such as technological innovation, renewable energy, digitalisation and business process outsourcing are gaining prominence, opening up opportunities for a new generation of companies. This leads to a context where “businesses led by young Latin Americans trained in Spain – where some of the best-ranked business schools in the world are located – are emerging, promising greater dynamism and innovation in business”.

Finally, the report argues that with proper planning, an adaptive approach and a smart alliance strategy, “Spain will continue to play a key role as a bridge for internationalising Latin American companies in Europe and the world”.

The 2025 Global LATAM report can be downloaded here.